Molten Steel
by Mavikiu
Summary: Gajeel is the new ruler of the kingdom of Terya and has to rebuild the strength and trust of his people after a brutal civil war. A visit from the flamboyant emperor Natsu isn't exactly helping him focus, especially when his wife Lucy brings her best friend along and she's just too darn cute. Gajeel x Levy Rated M for swearwords, future violence, war n stuff and maybe juicy time.
1. Chapter 1 - Terya

**Authors note: So, first story, I hope you like it :) I got originally inspired by nocturna131 and her story "The Iron King", check it out if you're interested!**

**The line spacing is kinda too small, I'll fix that in the next chapters, promise. Also, some lines just keep being italic and I can't change that . **

**I'm new to writing and still have trouble with consistent storytelling and POV changes, please go easy on me ;)**

**Have fun reading 3**

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Molten Steel

Chapter 1 - Terya

Behind the mountains of Hutlhur lies the Kingdom of Terya, stretched from the imposing figure of the jagged, grey twin peaks of Gthar in the northwest to the azure sea of Mesirae in the southeast. Albeit small and harsh, it bears a certain beauty, fresh and reborn in the spring of life, after war ripped deep wounds into its earthly flesh. Deep lush green forests hide small clearings full of vitality, the mountains let the highest waterfalls of the continent descend into cold rivers that tirelessly carry life towards the sea; filling old scars and covering them in little riverbanks, colourful heathlands and moors. It's a wild landscape, sheep and other cattle left to roam the spare grasslands, abandoned when villages were left in a flash, never to be returned to. Wildlife rules most of the forests the hills and valleys of the northern regions, as humans have retreated towards the sea, near the capital of Terya, Farkesi.

The Castle of Farkesi can be seen from afar, resting near the shore of Mesirae, on the only hill in a radius of many miles. The tall library tower, as well as the numerous smaller towers and half-timbered upper levels with their rather large windows add a certain delicacy to the otherwise sturdy block of stone. Mirroring the kingdom, it presents itself as modest, yet proud and particular in its own way.

These days, the King of this proud old kingdom faces a few particular Problems.

The last visitor from town had just left and the audience was officially declared over, but the king hadn't left yet. The decorative armor he wore shone occasionally, as the light that filtered through the coloured glass streamed into the room, illuminating the throne and the ruler of Terya on top of it. The King sighed and shifted his hand from under his chin to the side of his face, twisting his mouth into a sullen scowl. The rumors from around the kingdom spoke of wariness. The citizens knew him only as the warrior Kurogane, one of their strongest fighters, not as their leader. No one was expecting him to become king when he made a name for himself during the war. But now he had to be a leader without any experience and almost no advisors and the people were worried. And the damn Flame Emperor had announced his visit for tomorrow.

His scowl deepened. He had an entire kingdom to rule, he couldn't waste time in this crucial period of rebuilding it. And for what? Natsu, as always. He sighed yet again and stood, the familiar "klink" of his armored boots on the stone floor filling the throne room. He went outside and waved his guards off to release them from their duty before he headed down the corridor towards his chamber. He passed a few maids on their way to the kitchen, who immediately shrunk away from him and bowed down. _Hm, must be new h_e thought and waved them off. Gajeel was rather relaxed when it came to respect towards himself, but the rumors from his time as prince and his appearance did their own to scare anyone who wasn't already intimidated by his title.

He reached his chamber and slammed the door shut behind him. Although he liked to be in the throne room to think, the privacy and quiet of his chamber were a welcome change to calm himself down and relax. He removed the large ceremonial crown from his head and put it in its rightful place in the show cabinet beside his armor stand, before he peeled the rest of the ceremonial armor off his body and slipped out of the red undergarments and into a lighter, dark grey tunic.

He did not feel the need to wear more armor than necessary when staying in the castle, but the ceremonial armor was required for audiences. At least it was lighter than a regular one, and he had to admit that he liked wearing the obsidian scaled gloves. They were strong, dangerous pieces of armor, but they had been crafted masterfully and allowed for very free hand movement. Not being required to wear his armor everywhere pleased him greatly, as it was a constant reminder of the peaceful times in his kingdom. It hadn't been, not too long ago the whole kingdom had been swallowed in a brutal civil war and he had fought alongside his father, making a name for himself as the warrior, Kurogane.

He looked to a different set of armor just as intricate as his but even larger than his own. It clearly was not in use as dust had gathered in some places. "What kind of smartass advice would you give me?"he asked the empty room, red eyes skimming over the old armor. It used to shine in the light but years had gone by as it stayed unused, its previous owner gone too long. Gajeel smiled as he imagined the gruff voice of his father, teasing him about one thing or the other. His expression turned sullen as he remembered the reason that he would never hear that voice again. "Metalicana…." He shook his head to clear it and returned to the problem at hand. His father was no longer here and that was that. The past is in the past.

He turned, walked through an open doorway and slumped down on the huge bed, letting himself fall backwards. He turned his head towards the huge windows, behind them the lush castle garden and the sea in the distance. The beauty of the view wasn't lost on him, in fact he had envied his father for it and the opportunity to visit the garden so easily. His eyes closed as he folded his arms behind his head and inhaled the fresh breeze from outside.

Natsu, the Ruler of the neighboring country of Chrate. He was quite flashy for a King and had last visited in an ungodly red outfit that should have no place to exist. Gajeel opened an eye only to have it twitch at the memory. Chrate had come to aid the royalty of Terya in its fight against rebels, supported by several other kingdoms. Metalicana fell because a particular bad conflict from which he could not recover, making Gajeel King at only 19 years old. Natsu had shared a similar fate, becoming the rightful king with 18, but Igneel, the old King of Chrate had passed away far sooner when the boy was only eight. Nevertheless, he turned out to be quite the good ruler, his kindness and willingness to help his people were greatly appreciated by them. He and Gajeel shared a long friendship paired with a playful rivalry, so it was no wonder that Natsus next visit was, again, merely to shove his wife, Lucy into Gajeels face and show her off. While he was happy that Natsu found a woman who was intelligent and kind, on top of being able to deal with his antics, he didn't appreciate the interruption during these important times.

A polite knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he heaved himself off the bed, placing a thin iron band on top of his head, his "casual crown" as he liked to call it and opened the door.

The large figure in front of him gave a small bow, and Gajeel chuckled a bit "Come on Lily, you know I don't give a rat's ass about that, especially when it comes to you." "Well if you don't do it, then at least I have to keep myself in presentable shape" Lily replied and grinned at his best friend. Gajeel stepped aside to let the castles sword master into his chamber. Lily was what some people would call a relic, residue from old times, when magic and magical creatures were more commonplace. He combined the aspects of both humans and large cats, in his case giving him the appearance of a large panther on his hind legs. His race, the Exceed was one of the descendants of the ancient fauns, mythical creatures who ruled over the large forests long before humans appeared in Fiore. His animalic instincts and strength helped him to become one of the best warriors in the kingdom and a gifted swordfighter at a very early age.

Gajeel walked past the armory and into his living chamber where he sat down in a large armchair. He gestured for Lily to sit down on his usual spot on the plush sofa by the fireplace. "Something's biting you, I can see it" the large cat stated and looked at Gajeel expectantly before he sat down.

"Well it seems a certain pink haired King is arriving tomorrow to show off his Queen and pester me with dumb questions. He also wishes to have a duel." Gajeel sighed and Lily snickered at the exasperated tone. Despite having partaken in a few rough battles during his time as king, Natsu was never tired of fighting and Lily knew quite well how energized the Flame Emperor could be, even more so compared to the Iron King. "Doesn't he get enough when he quarrels with Gray all the time?" Gajeel moaned and Lily just gave him a sympathetic smile.

Gajeel took off the iron band adoring the mane of his black hair, setting it down on the table beside him and stood up "Are you up for some practice? I need to stretch my muscles before all of this madness" "Sure, but I did have something in mind when I came here" Lily answered and Gajeel turned to him and nodded for him to go on. "Ahem, you see, there is this other Exceed who just arrived in town. You know it's gotten harder for us these days, with people becoming suspicious of other races, especially the more magical ones." "Spit it, Lily" Gajeel was curious as to where this was going. "I talked to her and she told me she was looking for work and a place to stay. Can I tell her that she'll get that here?" he finally asked. Gajeel didn't have to think very long about a simple request like that "Sure thing, just make sure that the other staff knows, especially Kofu, she needs to oversee the process after all." "Thank you Gajeel, that means a lot!" Lily smiled and gave his King another small bow "Stop that or I might change my mind" Gajeel gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder as they started making their way into the castle yard.

"Don't get too cocky, apparently his new Queen is bringing a friend along with her and depending on how it goes, you might need me" Lily shot back "Oh? Who would this friend be?" Gajeel squinted at the bright light and adjusted his tunic to allow him more movement freedom. Lily went towards the sword stand at the practice grounds and picked two wooden practice swords from it, tossing one at Gajeel who had followed him to the sandy area.

He caught the sword and did a few swings to warm up while they both took their stances.

The Exceed grinned. "Why so curious?" Gajeel scoffed at the question. "Just spit it out." He rolled his shoulders in an effort to loosen them up.

Lily rolled his eyes at his impatient Majesty. "Fine. Her name is Lady Levy McGarden, I don't know any more either" then he suddenly rushed forward, swinging the sword down towards Gajeels head. His sword clashed with Gajeels with a loud wooden knock and the Iron King pushed him back. "Now, time to get serious my friend." Lily grinned and charged again.

After they were both sufficiently powered out and sweating profusely under the afternoon sun, both said their Goodbyes for the day and headed to their respective chambers. A servant had noticed the men practice and Gajeel requested his bathtub to be filled with scented water to scrub himself thoroughly before the next day. When he was finished, the giant tub was simply wheeled out of the large glass door, where the water could be released into the garden. Gajeel told his servants that he would be finished for the day and they left him to his businesses. Someone had already arranged the clothing he had picked out for the festivities that would start the next day and Gajeel let his hand brush over the soft fabric. Of course it was one of his finest Garments, fit to welcome the king of a neighboring country, and also in a rich dark green to give some contrast to Natsu, who would undoubtedly wear something red again. Gajeel frowned at the thought and wandered over to his writing desk. He still had orders to give out after today's audience and he knew he had to do it before the Flame Emperor arrived. The whole country had been preparing for his arrival, the town was beautifully decorated with flowers and colourful banners, showing off its rebuilt vitality. But as such, any orders had to be delivered before the festivities began in the castle and the city of Farkesi.

Gajeel had to light a candle while working and when he was finished, the moon cast a silvery glow over the garden outside of the windows and onto the large bed. He blew out the candle and stacked the papers for his servants to take when they started their daily duties. He laid his evening robe over a chair and laid on the bed, leaving the covers untouched. Terya might have a cooler climate than the other countries, but Summer would always bring heat, especially near the sea and Gajeel was glad that his undergarments were made of thin linen. Still, it took him some time of rolling around and staring out into the dark garden before the steady noise of waves crashing on the shore finally lulled him to sleep.

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**Aaand, it's done! First chapter!**

**I'll have the next up either tomorrow or the day after.**

**Please leave a review and tell me what i can do to make my writing better 3 **

**Hope you liked it, have a nice time!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Stranger

**Authors Note: First of all, a huge Thanks to everyone who reads my story!**

**It means a lot and makes me really happy to see that people like it enough, to follow/fav it :D **

**And as promised, here is the next chapter, or actually the next two. ^^' **

**I was planning to keep them split, but the second was just too short for my taste, so here you go, 3000 words. **

**Have fun reading :3**

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Chapter 2 - Stranger

A carriage rolls down the bumpy roads of the kingdom of Terya, while the king of said kingdom is sitting in his garden, merely in the process of waking up. Gajeel yawned and took a sip of his tea before shooting a glare at Lily who was trying not to laugh at the disheveled state of his king. Finally, he cleared his throat

"How are you feeling, Gajeel?" he inquired and gave asked man a plate with some small grilled fish and bread on them. His king thanked him and sighed before muttering

"I'm too tired for this crap. How am I supposed to last even one day with fucking Natsu in the castle, bouncing off every wall and trying to fight me all time!?"

Lily grinned and sipped his own tea before he answered "I would think that Lucy has calmed him down a bit. At least I hope so." "For the sake of everyone in here, I hope so too." Gajeel grumbled and wolfed down the rest of his breakfast.

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Inside the carriage, the guest of honor, Flame Emperor Natsu had different intentions with his own breakfast.

"huurrrgh, Lucy make it stop!" His less than graceful majesty groaned and laid his head down on his wife's lap, who diligently started stroking his hair. The blue-haired maiden on the other side of the carriage smiled at the pair and let the curtain she had been holding back fall down again.

"You two fit very well together." She remarked and Lucy smiled back, gently removing Natsus Crown to get better access to his head. "Although I really don't know how you deal with him half the time" The petite woman added with an amused look.

Lucy laughed a little and ignored the weak offended "hey!" Natsu managed before the carriage hit a large bump and he went back to being miserable again. Then she became more serious

"I know he's quite eccentric most of the time, but that's partly why I and our people like him. And also, he's been there for me when I needed him the most, always protecting me and managing to make me smile. In turn, I know how to calm him down and keep his impulses in check. I guess we're just a good team." She smiled brightly and Natsu gave a shaky thumbs up.

The blue-haired girl smiled, and looked out of the carriage window again, admiring the rather unusual landscape. As a citizen of the island Kingdom of Mrithar, Mountains were not something she saw every day, as well as pinetrees or heathlands. Even not now, while she was working in Natsus Palace, since it's situated far south in Chrate with its already very warm climate.

"Thank you for bringing me along you guys, it looks like a very interesting place! It's so…different!" she closed the curtain again and turned back to her friends.

"It really is. I always look forward to coming here." Lucy smiled and looked out the window herself. "I think I like it so much because it's not as pompous as Chrate, the people are proud, toughened by the rough land, but kind nonetheless and Farkesi looks really dreamy with all of the small houses and the stone." Lucys Eyes lit up "Oh, I can see the castle!" She exclaimed and Natsu murmured a relieved "Finally."

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Gajeel, finally dressed appropriately, received word of Natsus Carriage being sighted and the castle was preparing for his arrival. The Iron King put his ceremonial armor on and donned the official ceremonial crown of the royal family of Terya. A thin silver band, adorned with carvings of the mountains and forest on top. All of the intricate depictions are decorated with emeralds and opals, an obsidian dragon watching over all of it.

His head servant Kofu draped the last of his adornments over his shoulders and gave her King a last scrutinizing look. "Well, am I presentable? Shall I do a pirouette for you, Kofu?" he snickered. Kofu sighed and brushed some dust off his shoulder "Albeit not blessed with the best manners, you do look quite dashing, good choice with the green, your majesty."

"Why, thank you." Gajeel smiled at the old lady, who gave a quick bow and waited for him to leave the room. They made their way over to the throne room and Gajeel went over everything with her, making sure that the rooms for their guests were prepared.

"Thank you, Kofu. Are you prepared to welcome our guests?" "If you are, then I am as well." She answered and Gajeel nodded. He sat down on the throne and waited, as he watched the throne room fill with excited townsfolk, who wanted to see the royal couple firsthand. The castle was ready for its guests to arrive.

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"So, Lucy. You've met the king before. What's he like?" One of said guests asked back in the carriage. Lucy nodded her head and smiled sheepishly "I have and well when I met him it was more or less for Natsu to rub in his face that he is not married."

Her friend laughed "Well I can't say I'm too surprised!" Lucy just shrugged "I know I wasn't too shocked when Natsu did that. King Gajeel didn't seem to enjoy it though."

"Well, I guess an unwed man wouldn't like to be upstaged like this." she took a moment to think. "Why is he unwed then? Don't many women want to marry a king?" Lucy stiffened slightly

"Yes that may be true however..." Looking down at the now sleeping Emperor. "He suddenly became King after his father's death on the battlefield." She sighed and played with the pink hair in between her fingers.

"He was quite distraught for a while which frightened many as he was violent and lashing out. Not exactly a good state for courtship. It wasn't till Natsu and Lily knocked some sense into him and got him back to his normal, grumpy self."

The woman in front of her fell silent and it was quiet for a moment as both women were lost in their thoughts. It stayed quiet right until the carriage stopped and Natsu shot up, startling both women.

"Alright, we're finally here!" he grinned broadly and put his crown back on. Backwards maybe, but a step forward for the scatterbrained ruler. Fortunately, Lucy managed to hold him back long enough to put it on the right way, before they left the carriage together. Loud Cheers from the gathered townsfolk welcomed them and almost no one noticed the blue-haired maiden as she slipped out of the other side of the carriage and made her way into the castle behind the royal couple.

She marveled at the sturdy beauty of the big stone castle, a tall, white tower looming above her. The rural appeal of the half-timbered walls, paired with intricate coloured windows made for a certain feeling of restfulness. It gave off the vibe of a giant, who went to sleep some hundred years ago and allowed humans to live on him. The scars of war were almost invisible, metal reinforcement blending in with the stone foundations and the damages that hadn't been repaired yet were well hidden behind lush blooming bushes, and colourful overgrown window boxes.

She let out a small "whoa" when her eyes landed on the enormous wooden entry doors. Incredibly detailed patterns and depictions of nature and humans, the history of the kingdom maybe? What was the most surprising were the metallic inlays, incredibly detailed, almost fragile looking on this very sturdy door, made of a sturdy material.

Lucy noticed the awe of her friend and chuckled. "Pretty, isn't it? King Metalicana had it made, he loved ironwork and was quite crafty himself." She explained as the doors opened seemingly by themselves, revealing a decorated hallway and wide wooden stairs. "I have never seen a castle like that before. I can't wait to write mum and dad about it!" The women behind her exclaimed excitedly. "Ready?" Lucy asked her best friend and received a smile and a nod. A last brush of her dress and adjustment of her headband, and they ascended the stairs together, Natsu and Lucy first, of course.

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"Feeling alright?" Lily asked his King who gave a small snort "It's a state visit. We lived through a war, Lily." The Iron King answered and grinned "I'm looking forward to kicking Natsus ass."

"Well, by now they have arrived, so your majesty has to be on your best behavior and remember the protocol please." Lily reminded and Gajeel rolled his eyes at him. "No promises" he smiled up at the exceed. Lily just laughed. Hearing the doors open, Gajeel turned his focus towards the entrance of the throne room.

An announcer by the door named the guests entering. "May I present, His Imperial Majesty, Flame Emperor Natsu Dragneel of Chrate and Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Lucy Dragneel of Chrate." Both of them entered and walked towards the throne, the people gathered around bowing as they passed.

Whispers erupted around the room "That's the emperor?" "Wow, he's really young!" "But really cute, too!" "Wow, Empress Lucy is so pretty!" "They make a good couple!"

"Natsu, Lucy, It's good to see you. Welcome to Farkesi. I hope you had a good journey" Gajeels booming voice shut the whispers of the townsfolk up and everyone went quiet, giving their attention to the two rulers in front of them.

Natsu grinned "Thank you, Gajeel. We appreciate your hospitality." Lucy curtsied and smiled at the Iron King. "Hope you have been well."

The announcer spoke up again and everyone's attention went back to the entrance "May I present, Milady Levy McGarden, head scientist of the Chrate Empire." The sound of soft steps echoed around the room as a petite, blue-haired maiden entered. She was first greeted by whispers as well.

"Wow, she's pretty, too!" "But she looks really young, almost like a child!" "How is she head scientist of a whole Empire already?" "She must be crazy smart!"

Again, the townsfolk stopped immediately when Gajeel made his move. He stood from his throne, slowly walking towards his guests. Terya tradition does not require specific greetings for visiting guests, except if host and guest have not met before, and as such it was Gajeels task, especially as king and representative of the country to welcome his newest guest separately. A complicated task, as his position of king and her position as honored guest are not to be undermined. Gajeel was glad that there was a protocol for that. He gave the royal couple a curt nod before turning towards Lady Levy, addressing her directly

"Lady McGarden, I welcome you in the kingdom of Terya and in our capital, Farkesi." Levy curtsied before him "Thank you, King Redfox, it is an honor to meet you. I will not betray your kindness and hospitality."

After that, Gajeel bowed his head, one hand over his heart, and answered "You are our honored guest." He turned back to Natsu and Lucy, addressing all three of them. "You will find your usual rooms prepared. Kofu can show you the way to yours, Lady McGarden. If any of you wish to speak to me, ask your personal servant, they can find me." He smiled and gave all of them a nod, before Kofu came over and bowed deeply, guiding the guests out of the throne room.

Gajeel returned to his throne and addressed his people "In honor of our guests, a festival will be held in town, I'm sure you are well aware of that. Since I will be preoccupied, this is the last audience for the next two weeks. If you have an urgent request, speak now. "

Fortunately, most of the townsfolk were too excited, so there were only two requests, which could be handled by his head advisor, so no one really noticed that the iron king excused himself early and seemed somewhat absent-minded. No one except Lily, of course. The large cat shook his head and followed his king out of the room.

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Gajeel headed straight back to his room, Lily following him. "Gajeel, are you alright? You seemed really...not present."

"I'm fine, Lily, I was just surprised by Lucys friend and have been lost in thought over the whole visit." "Alright, tell me if it gets too much, glad you followed the protocol, though." Lily gave his friend a pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks for looking out for me Lil. See ya at dinner." With that, Gajeel took a turn and soon reached his chambers. He took the large crown and Gauntlets off, before peeling out of the seemingly endless layers of ceremonial garments, leaving him in a still presentable, albeit much lighter outfit.

He also left his cape hanging from his shoulders, liking the extra comfort behind his back. With a big sigh, he sat down in the armchair and looked out into the garden, mulling over how he would survive the next week.

He shared a strong bond with Natsu, so he wasn't worried about his behavior around him, Natsu himself wasn't exactly the definition of well-mannered either. Lucy was married to him, she was used to not having to follow protocol most of the time and they knew each other for a while now, so she was not an issue either.

_Lady McGarden…she's the one giving me a headache. _Gajeel pinched the bridge of his nose. The fact that she was pretty cute aside, she was a stranger and Gajeel did not deal with strangers very well.

The time of grief following his father's passing had left deep scars in his self-esteem, his own violent outbursts and angry behavior leaving him deeply afraid of scaring people off. He stood abruptly, opening his windows and breathed the fresh air to calm his nerves, flash backs of the past war and his own violent self crashing down on him. Pictures of dying rebels, scared servants, blood and red hot anger danced in front of his eyes while he felt his chest getting tighter with every, too fast heartbeat.

Since the window wasn't working well enough, he pushed the glass doors open and headed out into the garden. He walked around the flower beds, through the herb gardens and passed the vegetable garden to get to his favourite spot.

The soft splashing of the stream guiding him, he brushed past a few low hanging branches and bushes. He finally reached the little clearing and sat cross legged down beneath the willow tree next to the small waterfall of the stream. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the water and the rustling of the trees, the panic slowly ebbing away, like waves on a beach, retreating back into the sea.

When he felt like he could grasp his thoughts again, he used some of the breathing techniques his father taught him during combat training until he felt calm again. "Thanks, old man." He mumbled and dipped his hand into the stream, feeling the cool water flow around his fingers.

When he looked out toward the sea, he noticed the colourful sky, beautifully painted in rosy orange and a subdued blue, it reminded him how late it had gotten already. A rustle in the grass alerted him and he snapped his head towards it _what's this? The servants usually don't come back here._

A fluff of blue hair caught his eye, and the petite form of the Lady McGarden appeared. As soon as she saw her host sitting right in front of her, she startled and stuttered "Oh, I'm, I'm s-so sorry for interrupting you, your majesty, it was not my intent to disturb you!" while bowing in apology.

Gajeel, albeit quite startled himself by her presence managed a reassuring smile. "You can relax, milady, I am neither disturbed, nor angered." She cautiously looked up at him and he felt his heart stumble for just a second _She…why is she blushing? Why is that so cute!?_

He decided to hide his sudden enchantment by keeping up the conversation. "How did you find me? Not even all of the servants know of this place.", he asked, genuinely curious.

The woman in front of him smoothed out her dress and answered with a half-smile, still obviously somewhat nervous "Your head servant, Kofu was it? I asked her what I could do until dinner and she said that she wouldn't like me to wander around the castle alone, but that I could explore the gardens if I wanted to. So. I explored good, I guess?" she smiled sheepishly and Gajeel stood up shaking some dry grass off of his cape

"Seems like it." He chuckled and walked over to her "Would you like me to accompany you to the dining room?"

"A very generous offer, your majesty, but alas, in my haste to quench my own curiosity, I haven't had time to freshen up yet and would like to be presentable for dinner. I would take you up on your offer if it included accompanying me to my room, though, because as it stands, I'm not too sure where it was located."

She blushed at admitting that she got lost and Gajeels heart decided to betray him again _Since when did blushing have this much effect on me? _He cursed himself internally, but still offered her his arm. "Well, then the offer stands." She took his arm and they walked back into the garden together.

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**End of the second chapter :)**

**I spent way too much time researching specifics of greetings between royals for this one, but I really wanted to convey this whole protocol thing.**

****Also, this will be the last chapter to share any similarities with "The Iron King", I tried to change as much as possible and after this, it will be only me. ****

****I'll upload the next chapter again, either tomorrow or the days after. I have an assignment for Uni due Sunday and I also want to keep a few chapters ahead of my uploads.****

****On the other hand, I'm so excited and want to give everyone who likes this a new chapter :/****

****To the lovely people who gave me reviews:****

****clem1415: Merci beaucoup!****

****DragonflyFriday: Aw, you're so kind! The energy is totally worth it, hope you like this one too :3****

****finch6: Satisfied? ;) Thanks for your review, I'm happy to hear it :)****

****And to the nice guest who also left a review: Thanks a lot, I hope I can fulfill that potential ;) ****

****Again, thanks so much for reading, see you soon!****


	3. Chapter 3 -Expectations

**Authors Note: Hello there! Thank you for reading, it makes me so incredibly happy to see many people reading and hopefully enjoying my story! **

**I finished my paper today, yay! All of the stress is finally gone, or will be after I submit it tomorrow! (I even started dreaming about having to write my paper, ugh. I literally had a dream of going on an adventure with the whole Fairy Tail Gang, but then I LEFT bc of the stupid thing D:)**

**Now I can finally concentrate on the fun writing again! And I promise, I have soooooo many ideas for this story and I will update soon, I know this one is kinda short. I still want to have backup chapters, even though I've already written Chapter 8, lol. Believe me, it's really hard to wait at least some days between updates and not just spam everything :3  
**

**Have fun reading!**

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Chapter 3 - Expectations

Levy barely held herself upright, the startle from finding her host, the KING in such a personal space was still in her bones, and now she held the arm of said king while they walked side by side. _He's so intimidating, but yet he seems gentle… Come on, Levy, remember your manners! Say something! _"The castle gardens are really beautiful. And I noticed the rich vegetable garden, do you grow your food here?" she asked and looked up at the man who walked at her side, towering over her.

"Most of it, yes. Of course we can't grow all of the spices and ingredients that are used in the kitchen, but the castle even has a small orchard for growing all kinds of fruit." "Oh, I'm sure that it looks lovely in the spring!" Levy exclaimed and smiled brightly at the thought of beautiful blossoming trees. Gajeel smiled back at her "It does indeed, maybe you visit Farkesi in the spring and can see it. There is also a festival in town, celebrating the arrival of new life after the winter."

Levy's heart started beating faster when the iron king mentioned her visiting again _Is he inviting me? No, he said Farkesi, that's pretty vague. Oh ancestors, why am I so nervous? _"Oh, so spring is celebrated? I never really experienced cold winters, I'm sure you know how warm Chrate is all year. Spring isn't any different than the other seasons there." She sighed.

Gajeel seemed surprised at her displeasure "You are saddened by that? I assumed it must be quite pleasant to live in a warm climate. All of the exotic plants, never worrying about being cold. I also know that you don't have windows in the palace, something I always thought to be intriguing." He stated. Levy scrunched her face together, thinking for a moment

"Well, it is nice…sometimes. The fact that we only have holes in our walls also means that anything can enter. I know every kind of moth by heart, just because I've seen such an abundant number throughout my life." Gajeel snickered at that and Levy also let a small giggle escape her lips before she continued.

"But, as for the other things… even exotic plants get boring if you see them daily. The pine trees of Teryas northern forests are far more exotic to me than a waterlily or a palm tree. And I like the constant change, the dance of life, death and rebirth that normal seasons bring. Of course I never experienced much of it, but I read it in many books. It seems so much more…natural than what I'm used to in Chrate. I also like it that people arrange their own life after it, especially farmers. I'm quite fascinated by their abilities of knowing when to sow, groom and harvest, simply because nature demands it that way. It has sort of a comforting certainty to it, nature dictating our lives, the same way it did hundreds of years ago." She ended her explanation and seemed a little lost in thought.

Gajeel was impressed by her way of thinking and the deep understanding she had of something so mundane, yet so important. Something she hadn't even witnessed herself, nonetheless. He was about to ask her another question when she spoke up again "Oh no, I hope I didn't bore you, your majesty, I'm very sorry, letting my thoughts run away like that!" She stuttered and let her head hang down _Ah, damn, I ruined it. _

"Do not worry milady, it was quite refreshing to talk to you. The change of seasons is such a day-to-day affair that I don't even notice it anymore. Now that I see it from your perspective, I can appreciate it more. Thank you." Gajeel smiled and took Levy's hand from his arm. He bowed down and placed a soft kiss onto the back of her hand. "I believe this is the room we have prepared for you. I look forward to seeing you at dinner this evening." he smiled.

"Thank you, your majesty, I look forward to dinner as well." Levy curtsied and retreated into her room.

Inside, she leaned against the door and let out the breath she'd been holding. Then she finally let herself draw in way too many breaths. "Oh my Oh my Oh my…! What. What…what was that?"

She felt her cheeks heat up first, then her entire body felt like it was on fire, excitement and embarrassment and so many other feelings gnawing at her. The flash of feelings from essentially stumbling over the king, him offering to accompany her, dumping her thoughts about seasonal changes on him and then finally the hand kiss had her head spinning.

She took in a few deep breaths to calm herself and then decided to start to freshen up before dinner would roll around. While washing herself, she recounted the events of the day, from arriving in Terya, to the reception in Farkesi, to the conversation with her host.

Her host. The Iron king. Of course Levy knew about the rumors. The warrior prince Kurogane, a veteran of the civil war at only 22 years old, violent and dangerous, scaring almost everyone in his castle away from him. And although Lucy had told her that he was better now, she had expected to see a sullen, grim man who could never completely shake his violent demeanor, aged by his anger, cold and unreachable.

Instead, he had been quite pleasant and even welcoming towards her, despite being interrupted by her snooping. She couldn't deny that she had been scared by his intimidating appearance at first.

The huge claw-like gauntlets, the dark armor, the long black hair, even the piercings, which she knew were quite common around Terya were all very imposing to her. And his build didn't help much. When sitting on the throne, it wasn't very obvious, but as soon as he stood before her, she'd noticed just how massive the man was. Natsu wasn't the definition of scrawny either, the flame emperor was strong and built himself, but even he couldn't hold up to the sheer size of King Redfox.

Although, she noticed that his armor added to his imposing appearance. She hadn't been intimidated when she met him in the gardens, no armor, no gauntlets, not even a crown. Of course he was still a big man, but the simple tunic and cape just gave him the undertone of royal dignity, a more composed look than that of the war-hardened warrior king.

One might even call him attractive. Levy blushed at the thought and faintly slapped her cheeks. _Focus, Levy, he's a king, not a townsman, don't even start to think about him like that!_

Her clothes had been unpacked and she went through them to pick a new dress, wearing the same one for a near 10-hour trip was getting to her. She chose a dark red halter top dress instead of the dark blue one she'd been wearing. It was one of her favorites, comfortable, yet elegant, it hugged her upper body tightly and fell freely down her hips. More fabric layers were added at the hips to give it a more extravagant look without being exhausting to the wearer.

The look was completed with long lace sleeves, which Levy was thankful for, as she wasn't particularly fond of showing off her arms. She decided to do her hair up with a simple clasp and let some strands fall down freely onto her shoulders. She gave herself one last look and smiled. Perfect for a first dinner as the guest of a king.

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**/**

**How will our favourite King react to Levy in her smexy dress? I hope I described it somewhat good. **

**I write with way too much detail, but I just have all these ideas and want to bring them into this world! Thinking about clothes makes me way too excited.**

**I hope you liked this shorter chapter, If not, tell me why! If yes, tell me why! Tell me the good, the bad and the dirty! (Cookies for anyone recognizing that reference, lol.)**

**I love reviews so much, it shows me that you guys like my stuff and they always make my day and give me a big smile :)**

**And on the topic of reviews:**

**finch6: Glad to hear it! It's so encouraging to receive direct feedback like this :D**

**Shaidow365: Will do, sargent! Your review is so motivating! I'm really happy you thought the ending was cute, means I'm doing it right ;P**

**Aaaah, I feel like I found such an amazing community! It's so nice to be able to share something I'm so passionate about!**

**Have a wonderful day you incredible people :3**


	4. Chapter 4 - Like

**Authors Note: I just can't help myself, I'm so pumped about all of this that I want to give you new chapters as soon as possible, deal with it :P **

**This one is shorter as well, I didn't want to rip the next one apart, but it will be a bigger one, I promise. **

**But! Better not get used to the frequent Updates. My new semester starts in October and I also (hopefully) landed a temporary job at a local gift shop where a friend of mine works. Even though it's for helping them with Christmas shoppers, it starts around the same time, so I won't be able to write as frequently.**

**Still, I am so happy that people enjoy this story and I can't wait until we are at the point where our two lovebirds finally get a lil' closer, hehe ;) I'm so curious about what you guys think about all of the stuff that'll happen to them.**

**Have fun with this one :3**

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Chapter 4 - Like

Gajeel, sitting comfortably in his chair at the dinner table, played with a fork in his hand. Neither Lady McGarden, nor Lucy or Natsu had arrived yet and he was chatting with Lily about the plans they had for the week, during which their guests were staying at the castle.

"Maybe we can all go for a ride into the landscape? I'm sure that Lucys friend would like to see a conifer forest." He suggested and Lily gave him a surprised look. "First of all, how would you know? And second, who are you and what did you do with the Gajeel who doesn't care what people want?"

"Hey! Have some faith in me, will you? You're the one always pestering me about manners and shit! And I know because she told me." Lily, who had started to chuckle at the offense his friend took with his last comment, gave him a surprised look, again.

"Wait, she told you? When did you guys talk?" he asked, leaning forward. "Just a few hours ago. She surprised me in my usual spot and we walked in the garden. She told me that she likes the seasons and thinks pine trees are exotic" Gajeel shrugged. "Alright, now, who are you? That's not just manners, you like her!"

Before Gajeel could answer, or throw the fork at Lily, he noticed a certain pink-haired man enter the dining room, followed by his wife and her friend. Gajeel was already distracted by the arrival of other people, but he couldn't seem to regain any shred of his focus when his eyes fell on Lady McGarden. His brain could only sputter out one word: _Beautiful._

The red dress hugged in just the right way, accentuating every curve, while the floor-long fabric rustled with every soft step, giving her the appearance of floating, as she made her way over to him. The blue waves of her hair stood out against her pale, slender shoulders and Gajeel forgot what breathing was for a second. He finally regained his composure, and luckily for him, the servants flitting around them took everyone's attention away from him. The petite woman arrived at the table and curtsied before the king "Your majesty." Gajeel, feeling his heart jump right into his throat nodded curtly "Milady."

The servants retreated while everyone got seated, and everyone enjoyed their first few bites of their food, the entire table filled with steamed vegetables, grilled meat, fish and various baked goods. "Oh, I've never ate food like that!" Levy exclaimed while trying to load her plate with the smallest bites of every food item she could get. Lucy and Gajeel smiled at her excitement, Natsu was busy with shoveling everything in reach onto his plate.

"So, Milady McGarden, how do you enjoy Terya so far?" Lily inquired before eating a small piece of fish. "It is very nice, I especially enjoy the different flora and architecture." Levy smiled and dipped some bread into her sauce.

"Ah yes, I was impressed by that the first time, too." Lucy recounted and Natsu nodded his head in agreement. "We need to visit the city sometime this week, maybe the day after tomorrow?" Lucy continued and Levy agreed excitedly and added: "I would love to see how it is in winter, I'm sure the city would look lovely and cozy. I often read snow as being described as a blanket."

Gajeel gave her an incredulous look "Do you mean to say that you never saw snow? Well then you have to visit in winter!" he grinned. "Is that an official invitation?" Levy asked and arched her eyebrow in amusement. "Well, of course!" Gajeel laughed and Lily added: "We would be happy to have you again, Milady McGarden."

The evening went on well, Levy getting increasingly excited about the food and the prospect of experiencing so many new things, while Gajeel became more and more enamored with the petite women. Lily also enjoyed talking to her, and they discovered many similar interests. Lucy, Natsu and Gajeel exchanged news, stories, and inquired about shared friends.

* * *

Later in the evening, almost two hours after dinner had ended, Levy stifled a yawn "I think I will have to excuse myself, the day was quite long and I don't want to fall asleep on my plate." Everyone chuckled at her statement and she continued: "It has been a wonderful evening. I look forward to our ride tomorrow." She curtsied before Gajeel "Your majesty." He smiled at her "Have a good night, Milady." She turned to the others, wishing everyone a good night's rest as well before she left the dining room.

"I'm impressed Gajeel, not one curse word the whole evening!" Natsu snickered as soon as Levy had left. "Shut yer trap, Salamander." Lucy, Natsu and Lily broke out in laughter at witnessing Gajeels sudden change in personality. "What's so funny?" "We're just glad that you're putting in so much effort:" Lucy chuckled and Gajeel felt his ears growing hot. "You guys are always telling me I have to be polite and correct and all that shit when I'm around new people! Can't I just be nice to her without everyone jumping to conclusions?"

"Of course you can, my friend. In fact, I have to say that I am quite proud of your progress." "Progress? What are you talkin' 'bout, cat?"

"Well, we all know you went through a hard time, Natsu and I witnessed it firsthand and it really hurt me to see you like that. I'm glad to see you relaxed and polite. It fits you, you know." Lily smiled at his best friend.

"Aw, come on, Lil. Don't slap me with emotions like that." Gajeel laughed. "But, seriously, thank you, guys. Natsu, you knocked the sense back into me. And I couldn't have recovered from all of it, without you, Lily. Lucy, you were the first new person I met, you played a big part in pushing me to show manners, while overcoming my fear of scaring new people. I owe all of you big time and you guys mean a lot to me."

After Gajeels short speech, the addressed people seemed to be a bit shell-shocked by this sudden show of heartfelt emotions, before Lucy almost broke out in Tears. Lily himself wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye and Natsu proposed a night of drinking to celebrate their friendship.

* * *

After celebrating thoroughly, all of them went, stumbled or got dragged back to their room, Gajeel slipping in somewhere between stumbling and getting dragged by Lily, who managed to slip the completely drunk king into his chambers without any servants seeing his state. He threw his best friend onto the bed, who just yelled "Hey!" before mumbling something into his pillow.

"What? Oh, Gajeel you're so drunk." Lily shook his head "I said you were right, I like her, damn cat! And…okay I'm drunk." Lily did a double-take at Gajeels first words "What? You never tell me when you like people! Who? Lady McGarden?"

"Of course Lady McGarden! Who else? She so cute n' pretty, n' nice n' I dunwanna scare her away cus' I like her." Lily felt a grin spread across his face, feeling happy for his friend who finally found someone he seemed to truly be comfortable around.

"I'll let you get sleep, see you tomorrow, Gajeel." His king was already snoring softly. _Somehow, I doubt that he'll remember admitting this tomorrow morning._ _Just gotta remind him, I guess. _He smirked at that thought and closed the door behind him.

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**/**

**Will Lily even have to remind him? I think our beloved Bookworm will remind Gajeel herself ;)**

**Even though I sent my Professor my paper yesterday, I still have to get a printed version to him tomorrow. Deadline was today, on a Sunday, in the middle of semester break, so, of freaking course his secretary isn't working. I'm curious about his assessment, I have no idea if the paper was good or not. It was essentially my first and he's notorious for being picky and kind of a dick, lol.**

**Nevermind that, I want to thank my wonderful reviewers, you were so kind and your assessments made me really happy :)**

**trienniagala: Wanted to thank you again, your reviews were both very lovely and cute :3 made me very happ, thanks. I promise, there'll be cool, fluffy stuff happerning in the near future, cough, next chapter, cough.**

**Mskumiko24: I'm glad to hear it :)**

**Livalibus: Makes me happy to hear! Thanks for your insight, I never looked at it like that, but now that you mentioned it, I think it's my style, so it will keep being this way, yay! I hope you will also like the more...passionate parts ;D**

**Shaidow365: Thanks, that's really reassuring! It was also nice to see you back, I'm glad you're enjoying it :3 (Also, start with this Essay! ;P)**

**Have a wonderful day, you incredibly kind people! **


	5. Chapter 5 - Fairy

**Authors note: Yay, new chapter! And a long one, as promised, I'm so excited to finally update again, I'm curious what you guys think of this one!**

**Expect a big portion of fluff and romantic tension :P**

**So, nothing big happened, I draw a lot more these days, which is a nice feeling and for when I don't feel like writing or drawing, I restarted the Witcher for the fourth time, lol.**

**Anyways, you know I have more rambling at the bottom, so:**

**Have fun reading :3**

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Chapter 5 - Fairy

Levy slowly opened her eyes and laid one arm over her head to block out the stray light slipping inside from between the heavy curtains. She tried to catch the last whispers of her dream, remembering the feeling of soft lips and deep…ruby…eyes. Levy sat up abruptly, her cheeks showing every shade of red, besides ruby. _What was that about him being a king? He kisses your hand and you get all kinds of dreams? Come on, Levy, get your thoughts in line! _

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts and a small voice called out to her "Lady McGarden? May I come in?" "Yes, enter!" Levy called out and a maid entered. "Good morning, Milady, I hope you are feeling well. We haven't had the chance to see each other yesterday, my name is Mary and I will be your personal maid during your stay at Farkesi Castle." Mary opened the curtains while Levy climbed out of bed. "We will not have a formal breakfast today, his majesties and Empress Lucy are…indisposed this morning."

"Oh, what happened?" Levy asked, concerned for her friends and their host. "Don't worry Milady, they just had a bit of a celebration last night." Mary explained and Levy smiled. Of course there would be celebrating with Natsu in the mix. "I'm also supposed to tell you that you are welcome to eat with his Majesty, King Redfox in the Gardens, if you wish."

"Oh, that is very nice. I would love to!" Levy exclaimed. Mary smiled and nodded "Would you like me to help you get dressed, Milady?" she asked. "No, it's fine. I usually dress myself. Would you let King Redfox know that I will be joining him?" Mary nodded again, and bowed before she left the room. "Breakfast in the Garden, huh." Levy mumbled and went to pick out her outfit, a floor length light green dress, made of thin fabric. She put her hair up with a simple white headband and slipped into open sandals before walking out of the door.

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Gajeel tried to cope with the sun, while still enjoying his breakfast. _Come on, damn sun, move faster! I need some fucking shade! _Even in a short-sleeved tunic and thin linen pants, direct morning sun was just too hot. He was about to give up and move further into the shade when he heard a familiar voice "Good morning, your majesty." He turned his head to greet his petite guest. "Good morning, Milady" he answered and watched Levy curtsy before she took the seat close to him, taking the only available seat in the shadow.

"So, I heard you and the others had quite the celebration last night" she chuckled and put some sweetbread onto her plate. Gajeel instantly regretted that he put his hair up this morning when he felt his ears growing hot. "I'm very sorry if you feel left out." "Oh, no it's quite alright. I was in need of some sleep after the exciting day. And Natsu starts celebrations almost daily back home." She added and the both chuckled at their friend's antics. "I hope you rested well and found your room alright."

"It is a very nice room, thank you for your hospitality. Would you share with me where we will be riding today?" Levy inquired and spread some honey onto her bread "I thought you might want to see some trees and maybe a forest, so we'll visit a very old, sacred forest and have some food there." The blue-haired girl lit up at the mention of a sacred forest and Gajeel could swear, for a moment she looked like a fairy. A very pretty, cute, sunshine fairy. "That sounds amazing! I can't wait!" She grinned and the iron king felt his heart melt at the sheer happiness she was emanating. "I'm glad you are happy with our plans, Natsu wasn't quite so…eager. His motion sickness seems to have spread to horses, too, so he won't be joining us." "So, will Lucy come along or is it just us and Lily?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention. Since I'm preoccupied these next weeks, Lily is taking over some of my duties, so he went away on official business earlier this morning." Gajeel explained and leaned back, tea in hand.

"Not to offend, but Lily told me about this other Exceed you will be taking in as a maid, and I wonder if people will, well, let him handle their business? Some people in Chrate are extremely stubborn and wary of other races than their own. I also read up on your history and it is reported that the people of Terya have become quite even more wary of other races since the civil war. Does this make it more difficult for him?" Levy asked cautiously, but Gajeel just gave her an understanding look

"Don't worry milady, you are not offending anyone. And you're right, especially races who look obviously different than humans have been getting suspicious treatment lately and we're still working on building everyone's trust back up again. Lily is kind of an exception to all of this. He's the first General of the army of Terya, second in command only after me. Many people have fought under him during the war and he is well known among the kingdom. If a 7-foot cat, flanked by a dozen guards strides onto your farmyard and introduces himself as Pantherlily of Edolas, Swordmaster to the King and first General of the army, you'd lean more towards letting him do whatever he needs to do than arguing." He finished with a grin and Levy chuckled at the picture of the man she came to know as someone very kind and friendly throwing his authority around.

"Good Morning Gajeel, Morning Levy!" Lucy greeted the pair, who answered with their own greetings, as she approached the table. "So Lucy, I heard your husband won't be joining us today, is he still incapacitated?" Gajeel snickered and Lucy just rolled her eyes "You know how he handles his drinks, we're lucky if he wakes up today. So, what will we be doing today?" Gajeel gave her a surprised look "You mean, aside from a five-hour ride?"

"Five hours, are you serious? Then I'll skip." Lucy shook her head and Levy deflated a little "Well, your majesty, I don't need to see the forest, I mean we can also do something smaller…" she got cut off by Lucy "Oh no Levy, it's fine, I know you like nature. And someone has to entertain Natsu, the poor guards have other duties." "Really? I don't want to leave you behind or something…" "Go, I'll enjoy a day with my husband."

Gajeel piped up at that "If he wakes up that is. If he does, talk to Kofu, she'll get the guards to take you to town, that'll keep him occupied." "Won't you take any guards with you?" Lucy asked, surprised, but Gajeel just shrugged "I think I can handle myself and anything coming our way in a forest. Guards just draw more attention and slow you down." Lucy rolled her eyes at him "Alright big guy, put your muscles back in. Glad to know my Levy will be safe." she smiled and patted Levy's hand. They finished breakfast together and headed to their respective rooms.

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Levy walked over to her closet and looked through it to find her only pair of riding breeches and slipped out of her dress, throwing it over a chair. She also picked a white, thin blouse and got dressed, putting her hair up in a loose bun. While getting dressed, she mulled the breakfast over in her head. She knew that Lucy and Natsu were good friends with the king, but she was quite surprised, when Lucy talked to him like that. _She can be quite sassy, but to talk that informally to a king? They must be really good friends. Or maybe he's just holding back? I wonder how he behaves when I'm not around… _

A knock on the door sounded through the room "Come on in!" the door opened to reveal Mary "His Majesty has requested that I show you the way to our stables, are you ready to go, milady?" "Yes, I just have to find my shoes, hold on." She went back to the closet, slipped into her riding boots and grabbed a thin, lavender scarf, tying it around her waist. They left the room together and made their way over, chatting on the way. Mary was quite reserved, but Levy's bubbly personality and friendly attitude made her loosen up. Levy learned that she had only been working at the castle for about a month and had Family in a village outside of Farkesi, she also learned that the young maid had been quite wary of her king despite his politeness and was told some more of the rumors concerning him.

Mary ended the story with "But he's been really nice to us so far, so I'm not afraid of him anymore." as they walked towards the horses together. "Your majesty? King Redfox?" Mary called out and Gajeels voice rang out from one of the boxes "On my way!". He walked out of a box in the back, brushing straw from his pants and grinned at his guest "My, milady, not in a dress?" "Well, a dress would be awfully inconvenient on horseback." Levy retorted and with a grin of her own she added: "I mean, I could lend you one of mine if you're up for the challenge, your majesty." That proposal earned her a booming laughter from the iron king. He turned to Mary "You can go back to your duties, oh, but please bring out the food basket." Mary bowed and retreated back towards the castle.

"So milady, ready to meet the one carrying you for the rest of the day?" _Oh, so it won't be you? _Levy thought before scolding herself for her sass, and answering "Of course! Who'll it be?" she asked and Gajeel let out a short whistle and called out "Tinto! Come here, boy!" A brown spotted horse walked out of the box Gajeel had previously exited and trotted up to him. "Oh, he's a beauty!" Levy exclaimed excitedly as Tinto walked closer and came to a stop next to Gajeel. "He's our friendliest horse, so you won't have any Problems with him, but he's a bit of a scaredy cat. Lily taught him to respond to his name, he's usually the one riding him." Levy went over to the horse and held out her hand to let Tinto sniff her, and pet his nose afterwards.

Gajeel went to another box and knocked on the wood softly, alerting the horse inside, before he opened the door and let it walk out towards him. Levy's heart stopped for a moment when she saw a gorgeous jet black Frisian slowly exiting the box. "Hey, Girl, it's been a while, huh?" Gajeel smiled and the horse lowered its head and butted it gently against his shoulder. The iron king walked towards her and grabbed two headstalls, the horse trotting behind him. He noticed her heart eyes and chuckled. "Milady, may I introduce you to Scenja? She's my pride and the best horse around." "She's so gorgeous! And you two fit really well together." Levy smiled and took one of the headstalls, putting it around Tinto's head and followed Gajeel to a wooden bar where he tied Scenjas lead and tied Tinto beside her.

Together they groomed their horses and saddled them. "So, I always thought kings get their horses groomed" Levy remarked and Gajeel gave her a half offended look "I'm not like other kings and Terya is not like other kingdoms. We value independence and people who can throw their weight around, I'm no exception. Besides, I'm only so close with Scenja because I spend so much time with her." "Good answer!" Levy chuckled and hopped onto Tinto. "I like this kind of thinking, it reminds me of home." Gajeel walked over with the basket in his hands "Would you mind lifting your leg for a second? Tintos saddle is the only one with a luggage strap." Levy did as told and Gajeel strapped the basket to the saddle before climbing on top of Scenja "We'll take a route from behind the castle, I don't want to have the whole town following us." With that, Gajeel gave her a short smile and Scenja the signal to start walking.

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"I can't believe we're that far out of Farkesi already! That secret route was…short." Levy spurred Tinto and soon they were trotting beside Gajeel and Scenja.

"I used to sneak out a lot, I know most of the secrets in the castle. We also used this path in the war to ambush some of the rebel forces in Farkesi. Oh, I meant to ask you, why is it that you are so…proficient in riding? I wouldn't have expected a researcher to be so comfortable with horses." Gajeel asked and Levy smiled, abashed "I come from a family of horse breeders, actually. My parents and brothers bred horses for half of Mrithar so I basically grew up with them around. I sat on horseback before I could walk." She laughed. _Ah damn, she did that happy light up thing again! _"How did you end up head scientist then?" Gajeel asked

"I was allowed to visit the library in Natsus Palace when I was around 14 years old. As soon as I saw all of these books in such tall, beautiful shelves, I fell in love. I started working there as a maid, just so that I could stay. My parents were quite…horrified until I explained to them why I did it. And when Lucy came into the picture, we became friends quickly and she helped me get a place as one of the assistants of the head librarian. After that I worked on some projects for the empire and that slowly landed me the position of head scientist. Although I have to admit that I'm more of a researcher. Natsu just wanted to give me a real title." Gajeel gave her an appreciative look "I have to admit, I'm quite impressed, milady. And at such a young age as well."

"You flatter me, your majesty. I have to say, I'm quite curious about you as well. Not every king is so…straightforward. Mary told me you don't really care about protocol and you seem to be quite relaxed about being shown respect. How is that?" Levy asked and scratched Tinto behind the ear.

"That's partly due to how Teryans are as people and partly just me. My father was a great man and my mother was very gentle, too. She taught me how to handle horses and to treat servants kindly. Our people are against treating people differently, simply due to unearned factors, such as race or status. Even though, my family is an exception to this, my parents taught me early to treat everyone with respect and to do everything to earn respect. My mother died when I was ten, and after that it was just me and my father. He taught me how to earn respect, and he showed me my place when I stepped out of line. And Lily, of course. Lily himself is very reputable, and being friends with him imprinted on me as well. I guess I just want to treat my servants more like employees, equal people, rather than some low humans." He fell silent, fighting memories and his quickening breath as pictures of him lashing out at his servants filled his mind.

His rising panic washed away when he heard the soft voice to his left. "That sounds very decent and genuine. I like your way of thinking and the attitude of your people. Most aristocrats in Chrate treat their servants and citizens like dirt and I've always been against that." Levy remarked.

They shared some of their opinions and experiences until they reached the edge of the forest. Levy was in awe as soon as they entered, and she wasn't the only one, although Gajeel wasn't admiring the trees.

* * *

"Whoa…It's so much cooler in here, is that because the trees block out the sun?" Gajeel just nodded "And, those aren't pinetrees, right? I recognize some of them, like beeches and acorns. What is that over there?" Gajeel looked where Levy was pointing "That's one of the sacred trees of the forest."

"Wait, that's a tree? No way, he's way too big!" Gajeel chuckled "Oaks tend to get that big when they don't get sick or uprooted or anything like that. The people who worship this forest kept it safe, so that it could grow to that size. It's very old." Levy's eyes were as big as saucers "That is one large tree." she remarked when a rustle in the undergrowth caught her attention, and she was about to ask again, but Gajeel just held a hand out in front of her, stopping her from moving forward or talking.

A few moments after, a fox with a mouse in its mouth emerged and quickly scuffled back into the bushes when he spotted the two horses and their riders. "Whoa. That was amazing! Was that a bobcat?" Levy exclaimed, her cheeks glowing red with excitement and Gajeel chuckled. "No, head scientist of the Empire, that was a fox. Bobcats dwell only in the mountains." She gave him a little bit of a dirty look before she got distracted by something else, now marveling at a spot of ground covered in little white flowers.

"We have to take a smaller route from here, I don't know if we can take it on horseback, if it's too overgrown, we'll let the horses go first, they can find their way better." Gajeel remarked and navigated Scenja towards an opening between a few trees, Levy didn't even have to tell Tinto what to do, he simply followed Scenja onto the narrow path. She patted his side and then laid down onto his neck, looking into the shrubs beside the path while he trotted forward steadily.

Fortunately, they didn't have to leave their horses, and only one branch got caught in Gajeels mane of hair, prompting a small giggle from Levy as she watched him struggling to detangle himself while, without her knowledge, desperately trying not to throw curses around.

* * *

Suddenly there was more light again and Levy almost thought they had exited the forest, but a second later she only found herself unable to speak. Gajeel hopped off Scenja, his feet landing in soft, fresh green grass, that covered the entire clearing, safe for the rocky riverbank and the small river rushing by. Tall old trees looking down from small hills covered in flowers filtered the sun, letting the light paint spotted patterns on the ground. Only the water rushing over moss-covered rocks glistened in the bright sunlight.

"Beautiful." Levy breathed and Gajeel turned around to see her, tall on the big Tinto, bathed in a spot of sunlight, her cheeks red from excitement and a stray blue curl falling onto her shoulder. "Yes. I know." he smiled and could swear that the red of her cheeks deepened a little, but that was probably because she moved into the shadows, right?

Levy hopped off Tinto and Gajeel called him over while Levy wandered off towards one of the trees, softly touching its rugged bark as she looked up into the thick crown of leaves. Gajeel took the reins off of the horses and unhooked the basket with food, setting both on the ground. After that, he took off the saddles as well, carrying them over to the tree Levy was admiring. She noticed him and went to retrieve the rest of their equipment.

She had a sheepish look on her face when she came back and Gajeel could almost smell the burning question in her mind "what is it, milady?" he asked and she looked down "erm, I wanted to ask, since it's kind of, uhm, inappropriate, I think? But I really want to wade into the river, and I would have to…"

Gajeel cut her off at that "It's fine, I don't mind at all." And Levy gave him a big smile "Thank you, your majesty!" she slipped out of her shoes, but Gajeel held her back before she could walk off to the river.

"I have a favour to ask of you, milady. Since my friends call me just Gajeel, and I hope we are on the path of becoming friends, I would appreciate it if you would call me by my name, rather than my title." Levy smiled at that "Alright, Gajeel. I'd like that. And I think it goes without saying that I expect you to call me Levy as well." she grinned and held out her hand for a handshake. Gajeel took her hand, leaned down and brought it up to his height. He kissed it softly and Levy felt the blood rushing up into her chest when he looked up at her again "It would be my pleasure, Levy."

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**/**

**I don't know if the real Gajeel could even be that smooth, but who cares, he's kinda ooc anyways. **

**I have to say, I am writing him with his royal upbringing in mind. He's still the rough guy with a potty mouth, but I mean as a king****, he'd behave differently than the real one.**

**I can already smell the delicious dinner my boyfriend has been cooking, so I'll wrap this up quickly, before I start eating my laptop. **

**Torture, I tell you. **

**To my wonderful reviewers, you guys are kinda my regulars now ;):**

**trienniagala: I'm excited, too, I hope you like this one as well ;P**

**finch6: thanks, I hope it wasn't too long :)**

**Shaidow365: Proud of you for writing that essay ;) I look forward to seeing you at every chapter, I love reading your reviews :3 **

**Have a delicious time, you amazing people!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Water

**Author's Note: Phew, it's gotten late already. Hope not too late, but hey, timezones n stuff.**

** I polished the dialogue, I noticed, that it felt a little rushed these past chapters and I want to give you guys the best reading experience ;)**

**We spontaneously went to a zoo yesterday (2h drive spontaneous, lol). It's fun, but also sad when you see a leopard pacing in his enclosure. We hope that the zoo will get some money and fix it in the future. But we could also hear a lion roar, so that was cool. **

**Hope you like this one, have fun reading :3**

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Chapter 6 – Water

The occasional _splish_ when Levy made a step or picked up a rock in the water, the rustling of the trees, the rushing of the river, small animals and the stray buzz of a bee or the singing of a lonely bird. Gajeel loved listening to the forest. Leaned against the tree, he sat with his eyes closed and his arms behind his head. When a soft breeze whispered across the clearing and through his hair, he opened his eyes again, watching Levy bent over with both arms over the water. Her pants rolled up to her knees, she stood completely still, a few stray blue curls falling down to frame her concentrated face. Said face was illuminated by the glistening of light hitting the water flowing around her ankles. Gajeel would have marveled at the almost ethereal picture, if not for the confusion he felt.

He turned his head sideways _what is she doing?_ Her shawl left over the now empty basket, she had ceased picking rocks and waterplants and was now standing in the middle of the river…waiting? Suddenly, her hands snapped downwards and Gajeel finally realized what she was doing.

"Are you trying to catch us dinner?" he called over and she turned back to him, her hands closed around something "No, I just want to get a closer look at them." She answered and Gajeel snickered _head scientist, what did I expect? _before standing up and walking over to her. Levy carefully looked into her palms and sighed, opening them to let out some water. "I'm just not fast enough" she grumbled and shook a small waterplant off her finger. "Well, what are you trying to catch?" Gajeel asked and squinted at the water, until Levy pointed into it "There are these really small fish and I wanted to know how they look." She explained and Gajeel crouched down, squinting again before he realized which fish she meant.

"Those are called minnows and I think I can get one for you. I used to catch them for training and fun when I was younger." He explained, slipped out of his own boots and waded into the water. "Oh, well, you don't have to do that." Levy answered, startled by his eagerness to help her with such a silly task. "Come on, I want to go home sometime today. With you, if possible and I think you won't give up so easily." He laughed and got in position, now mirroring Levy's position from before. "Also, there's a simple trick to it." With that, he lifted a big rock and thrusted his right hand into the water, closing it around the contents rushing out with the currents.

When he brought his hand up again, he could feel movement inside and grinned. "Open your hands." He told the smaller women and she did as she was told, her face reminding him of that of a child about to receive the most wonderful gift. He carefully let the small fish drop into her cupped hands and her eyes grew even bigger as she examined the minnow wriggling on her palm. When she was finished looking at it, she released it back into the water. "Thanks little guy!" She called after it, even doing a little wave and Gajeel felt his heart jump weirdly _That… was so cute. How is she doing that?_

She turned her head around and smiled at him, not really helping his heart problem "Thank you for helping me, your majUa!" she yelped when her foot slipped, making her loose her balance. Gajeels reflexes caught on, his arm darted forward, pulling her up to his chest in an effort to keep her from falling. "What did I ask you before?" he joked and she just looked up at his face, squished against him, cheeks red, breathing heavily from the adrenaline "Thank you, Gajeel." She breathed and he desperately hoped she wouldn't notice just how hard his heart started beating at that. "Sure thing." he grinned, released her and waded back to the river bank, sitting down on a large rock.

* * *

"So, are you getting your fill of researching? We still have to ride home and we've already been gone for about five hours." He remarked and Levy turned around, wiping her wet hands on her breeches. "Yeah, I think I am." she started wading towards him and slipped again, falling into the river this time. "Oh, are you okay?" he asked and she crawled back up in a sitting position, water still flowing around her, seeping into her clothing. "Yeah, I'm fine, just feeling like a wet cat." She chuckled and Gajeel joined her "Why did I even keep you from falling earlier? Should have told me you wanted to bathe!" she laughed even more at that and stood up. Gajeel quickly averted his eyes, "Uh, erm. You might want to cover up. I promise I didn't see anything."_ Or rather, didn't see everything. Damnit, stop that right now!_

Levy was confused for a second, then she realized that her white blouse had just gotten wet and she had disregarded any undergarments to stay cool. And the fact that the river water was cold didn't really help the situation either. She started blushing furiously, mirroring Gajeel, who was suddenly very focused on putting his shoes on "Could you maybe get me my scarf? I left it on the basket." She muttered and covered herself as good as possible. The iron king just nodded and went to retrieve it.

He came back and held it out to Levy, who now had her arms crossed over her chest. She gave him a pointed look and he closed his eyes while she tied the scarf around herself. "Finished!" she announced and Gajeel cautiously opened his eyes again. "Fashionable." he snickered "I think you'll dry when we reach the fields, are you okay riding in wet clothes?" "Do I have another choice?" She asked, shrugging and Gajeel decided he'd keep his thoughts about the only other choice to himself.

"True. I'll go saddle the horses." He went to the tree and called Tinto on the way. The stallion and Scenja had been wandering around the clearing to graze, but now they perked up and trotted back to their master. Levy slipped her shoes back over her wet feet and skipped over to him as well "I've been meaning to ask; is there any way we can ride a little faster on our way home? It's been a while since I could really let loose speedwise." Levy asked and fastened the belt on Tinto's saddle. Gajeel saddled Scenja as well, wondering if the petite woman would keep surprising him like this.

"Sure thing. We'll leave the basket at the waypost in front of the forest. Some of the servants come here to worship, they'll take it back." He smiled and handed her the basket to take fasten it to her saddle. They hopped up onto the horses and Levy gave the clearing one last longing look before the group slipped into the bushes.

* * *

"First!" Levy yelled out breathlessly when they arrived on castle grounds, startling some servants, who had come out at the sound of hooves thundering onto the cobblestone. Gajeel arrived just moments after, reigning Scenja in to slow her down. "Impressive! I didn't think you'd be this competitive, Milady Levy McGarden!" he laughed and lead Scenja over to her. "Well, I didn't think you would challenge me just because I wanted to let the horses run!" she laughed back.

Gajeel turned towards the servants "Could you prepare hot scented water for each of us?" he received a bow and nodded before he followed Levy to the stables. After they finished grooming the horses, Gajeel accompanied Levy to her room again, bidding farewell to her with another kiss to the back of her hand.

Levy closed the door behind her and untied the scarf before peeling off her clothes. She sat down in the huge tub and let herself get soaked, letting the itchiness of being in wet clothes and the ache of the many hours on horseback seep away. The scents of rose and lavender mingled with the scent of the soap she now used to wash herself before sinking back into the hot water to continue her soaking. Gajeel, on the other side of the castle preferred a quicker scrub, washing himself thoroughly before he got dressed in a fresh tunic.

He was about to lay down on the bed to think when a knock on the door interrupted him and he went to open the door. "Lily! Back already?" He grinned and gave his friend a hug. The large cat went inside, patting his king on the back as he passed him "Yeah, wasn't much to do. I heard you caused quite the ruckus outside!" He let himself fall down on his usual spot and Gajeel sat down in his chair.

"Just a little race." The iron king shrugged and Lily gave him a surprised look "A race? And Lucy was okay with that?" he asked, wondering what had gotten into the empress "She wasn't with us, chose to stay with Natsu instead. And Levy wanted to let the horses run, I thought it could be fun for them, too." Lily was downright flabbergasted after that "Wait, you call her by name now? Next time I'm not here you'll…"

"Don't finish that sentence, cat, or I'll bust your ass in training next time." Gajeel threatened half-heartedly and Lily just snickered "You know we're equal in training circumstances. And I know for a fact you like her." He added slyly and Gajeel felt his ears growing red in something between anger, confusion and embarrassment

"Huh? What're you yapping on about?" he barked at his general. "Drunk Gajeel told me: 'she's so cute and nice and pretty, and I like her!' Your words." The exceed snickered and his friend looked like he was trying to evaporate into thin air.

"What, no! Argh, damn Booze! And damn you, cat!" he yelled and Lily tensed at his tone. The memories of past Gajeel were still fresh in his mind and the line between banter and violent outburst still blurry at times. He still hadn't fully shaken the habit of being ready to defend himself around his king.

Gajeel noticed his friend tensing up and his heart did a painful squeeze as he realized what had happened. He hung his head in shame, feeling like the worst friend on earth "Relax, Lily. I'm sorry." Now he tensed, old memories bubbling to the surface of his mind. Things he'd pushed away crawled back, made themselves known to him, excruciating and merciless. He pressed the nail of his thumb into his middle finger, trying desperately to keep his composure, while his breath ran horribly short.

Suddenly, another memory washed up between the others, a short blue-haired woman smiling at him, a small fish in her hands

_Levy…? _

He jumped a little when Lily laid a paw on his shoulder "You relax too, Gajeel. It's fine. Listen, I have to go see Shagotte, I want to make sure she's settling in fine." The king gave him a confused look "Wait, you asked me only yesterday, and now she's already settling in?"

"Well, erm, you see, I had planned that with her and Kofu for some time, I just needed to ask you. And I wanted to get her inside before the festivities start, so I'll know she's safe." Lily explained and Gajeel smirked "I knew it. You're only on my tail because you want to distract from your own romantic interests in a certain exceed." He remarked and Lily rolled his eyes as he made his way to the door "No, I'm just nice."

"Yea, sure!" Gajeel laughed as Lily closed the door. After that he went out into the garden, making his way over to the stream, where he sat down in his usual spot to try sorting through his feelings. _Am I just nice as well?_ _More importantly, is she just nice? _He growled in frustration, his own feelings confusing and scaring him. The memory of her had startled him, he simply didn't expect a positive memory, let alone Levy. But as much as it had surprised him, it was also comforting and likely fended the upcoming panic attack off. _She's so lively and positive, maybe it's that. _

He had been with some women during the war, but there was never any place for feelings, never mind love, just mere moments of comfort. He'd also thought of himself as being unable to love _until now?_ _No, I don't love her. I just like her, wait, I like her? Argh, what does it even matter? She'd be too god for me anyways. _He growled again and a soft voice spoke up:

"Oh, bad timing?" Levy asked and emerged from between the bushes. "No, good timing, actually. I could use some company." Gajeel smiled and patted the grass beside him. Levy smiled back and sat down beside him, producing a book from the folds of her dress and carefully putting it beside her. "Ah, have you been reading?" Gajeel asked her and she grinned "Yes, nothing better than a book while getting soaked in the tub! It's one of my favourites actually." Gajeel raised his eyebrows and gave her a curious look "And, what is it about?"

"It's a collection of Tales and Legends from the magic age. About fawns, magicians and even dragons! It was the book that I used to teach myself how to read, too." She smiled fondly and let her hand rest on the soft leather of the book. "Wait. You taught yourself how to read?" Gajeel was genuinely surprised and Levy blushed at the undertone of admiration in his voice. "Yes, I was bored. And besides, even though my parents are rather privileged, I wasn't really allowed to go to school. Everything I know, I had to teach myself, but I had time. I'm too meek to work with the horses all day, but our name wasn't important enough for me to get married to anyone important, so I was just left to myself." She ended, her voice getting quiet with the last sentence.

"That sounds kind of sad. But it seems to have worked out well for you." Gajeel remarked and she looked up at him with a bright smile. "It did. I have wonderful friends, a great position at the Palace, and hey, I'm talking to a king like we're friends!" she listed, taking a big step with the last part, desperately hoping that she didn't overstep any lines with it. "Oi, I hope we are friends!" Gajeel laughed, faking offense at her statement and she let out a breath, she didn't know she was holding "Me too, I mean, I'd like to be friends, if you want to." She stuttered and Gajeel snickered "I said that, didn't I? So, friends?" He stood up and held out his hand for her. Levy grabbed her book and took his hand "Friends." She smiled before he pulled her up. He'd overestimated her weight, though, and almost pulled her into him, stopping here mere millimeters in front of his chest. For a moment, they just looked at each other, surprised and breathing fast with sudden excitement. The moment was broken when Levy's stomach decided to grumble and they broke out in laughter. "I see someone is in dire need of dinner." Gajeel chuckled and offered her his arm to walk her to the dinner hall.

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**/**

**Aren't they just the cutest? I love 'em.**

**Feel absolutely welcomed and invited to leave reviews, I really enjoy reading them! And on the topic of reviews:**

**DragonflyFriday: Nice to see you back, love your assessment ;) The Frisian instantly popped into my head when I thought about a horse for him, these dark beauties are just so gorgeous! Fitting for another dark maned beast ;P**

**Livalibus: Hi again :) Your reviews are always so uplifting, I like your evaluations, they're so on point! I'm glad you look forward to the chapters :3**

**trienniagala: Oh, I just love your enthusiasm, it's so motivating ;) **

**And also thank you to the nice guest who left a review as well, I greatly appreciate it :)**

**Have a wonderful week, you amazing people :3**


	7. Chapter 7 - Feelings

**Authors Note: Oh the feels. I hope you guys will like this chapter as much as I do. **

**I decided to give you all a treat, so it's 4000 words this time, the longest so far! **

**I hope the ending isn't too rushed, I'm not sure how much I like it. I had to hurry a bit, between wanting to give you guys a chapter today, but also dyeing my hair before we visit my sister-in-law and nephew later. Phew, glad I managed it all.**

**This was also the last chapter I had in reserve, now I have to write update to update. But don't worry, I still have them planned out somewhat ;)**

**Happy reading!**

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Chapter 7 - Feelings

Levy woke up to the sounds of yelling. She rubbed her eyes, trying to shake the sleep away before she crawled out of bed and made her way over to the window, opening it after she'd pushed the large curtains aside. Down in the garden, Gajeel and Natsu arguing caused the ruckus and she leaned on her windowsill to listen to their bickering. "Come on Gajeel, I hadn't had a good fight in weeks!" the flame emperor whined and Gajeel just groaned "What's with Gray? I thought you two idiots do nothing but fight!"

"Gray has been on a trip for such a long time and no one else wants to have a real fight!" Levy leaned out a little more and could now see that they were sitting at Gajeels table, eating Breakfast. "Well, I'm no one else too, then. Shut yer trap and let me eat!" Levy giggled at that burst of Emotion, as well as the funny expression, right when Natsu had the next idea to get the iron king to fight with him: "If I just start hitting you, then you have no other choice than to fight back!" Now she had to hold back from laughing out loud, knowing how childishly persistent Natsu could be when he got passionate about something.

"Like hell you are! Ugh, look, I know I can't keep you from trying. So, you let me eat my breakfast in peace and I promise that we'll have a training fight later. Sound good?" The iron king grumbled, but Natsu wasn't quite satisfied with that "Why only later? I'm bored right now!" he whined and dramatically draped hiself over his chair, causing Gajeel, who had already been seething to outright explode at him. "Cut the crap, Natsu! Either you take my deal or you can try fighting the guards when they throw you out of my fucking castle!" Levy startled when Gajeel raised his voice, obviously fed up with the flame emperor. She was also quite surprised at hearing him curse like that. _He must be holding that back when I'm around, I never hear him talk like that. Just because I'm new to the group? _"I wanted to go to the town with Levy today, and now I have to deal with your stupid antics instead! So don't go around fucking annoying me!" _What? He said he wanted to go with me? Why would he mention me specifically? _

She started to blush at the implication of that, but was interrupted by someone knocking on her door "Hey Lev, it's me, Lucy! Are you awake? Can I come in?" Levy closed the window and turned around, smoothing her dress out. "Yes, I am, come in!" Lucy opened the door and poked her head in "What, you're still in your nightgown? Oh come on, Lev! Asking if you are awake was a joke, you know?!" The blonde woman playfully scolded her friend "I'm sorry, guess the ride yesterday was more exhausting than I thought." The blue-haired girl shrugged "Hey, do you have any idea what I should wear? Have a look in my closet, you're the one with the eye for style." Lucy laughed at that and walked over to the big closet, going through Levy's dresses. "So now you're sweet-talking me, huh! Miss McGarden, mind your manners!"

Levy slipped behind her folding screen, where she pulled the nightgown over her head and slipped into a thin undergarment. Lucy turned around, a long, yellow skirt in her hands and threw it at the screen "Here, where are your blouses? It's really incredible, your closet here is better organized than the one at home and I still can't find anything." She remarked and both girls giggled, before Levy slipped into her skirt and came over, nudging Lucy gently with her hip, to move in front of the blonde; and started rummaging through her clothes. She picked a nice blouse and turned around to present it to her friend, who reacted with raised eyebrows. "Dark red with yellow? You also have blue hair, Levy!"

"Yes, I like colours. Besides, everyone will look at you anyway." Levy smiled and Lucy suddenly got a sly smirk on her face "Well, not everyone." She grinned at her friend and only got a puzzled look in response "Huh? What do you mean by that, Lu?" "Ah, nothing, just my usual silliness. Want me to do your hair?" They sat down on Levy's bed and Lucy started skillfully braiding the blue strands into a tasteful updo. "So, I just heard Natsu and Gajeel arguing about fighting, it seems they won't go with us." "Waaaait a minute, you call him by his name now? What did you guys actually do yesterday?" Lucy asked and pinned the last strand of hair into her creation. Levy turned around and gave her best friend a look "Nothing, he asked and I agreed. As for everything else, I'll tell you later, let's get going, I'm starving." With that, she stood and grabbed her satchel, walking over to the door, closely followed by Lucy.

* * *

The practice grounds of Farkesi Castle were filled with grunts and the hollow sounds of wood hitting wood as the iron king and the flame emperor let their respective swords rain blows on each other. "Hah, I'm winning!" Natsu yelled after he landed a blow to Gajeels shoulder, but his opponent used the position to grab the rose-haired man, turn him around and push his knee into his back, making Natsu loose his balance "You sure? I'd have killed you right now." Natsu threw his sword forward and caught his stumble by simply rolling forward, picking up his sword again, before he stood and turned back to Gajeel.

"We'd have killed each other a few times now." He laughed and blocked the next attack from the iron king, sidestepping him and letting his sword fly at the mane of black hair of his opponent. Gajeel ducked and pushed the handle of his own sword into Natsus stomach. "Ugh, hey!" the flame emperor yelled and coughed, prompting the iron king to take a few steps back, interrupting the fight to let him recover.

"Alright, we've been at it for some time and half of my skin is probably blue at this point. What do you say to some hand to hand? Another one of your hits and It'll get painful." Gajeel grinned and moved his shoulder and Natsu threw his sword to the side. "Sure thing, let's go!" he wheezed and Gajeel gave him a look "Man, come on, at least breathe first, I don't have to see your breakfast again. I'll get us some water and bandaging, take it slow." He walked over to Natsus sword, picked it up and brought both of them to the weapon stand.

He walked over to the garden and waved to one of the maids "hey, erm…" he suddenly noticed that he didn't know her name, even though she was Levy's maid and he'd seen her a couple of times before. _why does that feel so weird? These people live here, work for me and I can't even call them by their name? Wasn't I the one who boasted to Levy how I want to treat them as people? _By now, the maid had made her way over to him and curtsied "What do you need, your majesty?" she asked and he hesitated for a moment.

"I'm sorry, could you tell me your name?" she startled and looked at him with wide eyes "It's Mary, your majesty. Did I do something wrong? I'm deeply sorry if I did!" "Oh no, I was just curious, you mustn't worry! Could you maybe get two jugs of water to the training grounds? Thank you." He smiled and she nodded, still giving him a surprised look "At once, your majesty."

Gajeel returned and rummaged through a box in the armor shed, pulling out some clean strips of fabric and returned to Natsu, who was already lifting one of the jugs to his lips. He threw two of the bandages at him and sat down beside the flame emperor, grabbing his own jug on the way. "So. You wanted to go with Levy, eh?" Natsu asked with a sly smile and Gajeel shrugged. "Yea, and? What are you getting' at, Salamander?"

Natsu took one look at his friend and grinned broadly "Could it be that you like her? Your hair is up, you know. I can see you blushing." He snickered and Gajeel just sighed and put his head down, letting the rest of his ponytail cover his face. "Congrats, you're number two." He finally murmured and Natsu gave him a puzzled look "Huh? What do you mean?" "Lily pestered me about this too. Why are you guys on my back like that?" Gajeel groaned and finally looked up, to see Natsu give him a big sunshine grin "Well, because we're family!" he simply stated and Gajeel gave him a half-smile "You're the smartest dumbass I know." Natsu, offended by that threw a small stick at the black-haired man "Oi, I was just nice to you, you Grouch!"

"I know, Natsu, it wasn't meant in a bad way. I just feel weird when I think of her, guess that makes me even more…grouchy." Gajeel admitted and Natsu just shook his head at that. "To think I'd see the day…Gajeel talking about his feelings. What do you mean with weird, though?" he asked and his friend laid his head back "I'm not sure what it is. It feels like…when you stand somewhere high and feel almost like you're falling. Or that moment when you block a hit and can feel your entire body vibrate with the force and you feel like you don't have any weight." Natsu gave him a knowing look and then burst out laughing.

"Oh come on! I talk to you and you laugh!" Gajeel muffed and Natsu tried to stop laughing "Sorry man, It's just that I really know this feeling. I felt the exact same when I started to fall for Lucy. And until then I also only knew how it felt from fighting. When Lucy and I got together I recognized it as being in love." Gajeels breath started to quicken at the last statement. "Love, huh?" he asked, remembering his thought process in the garden. "Wouldn't go there yet, I've known her for what? Not even three days. But I definitely get along with her and I also feel good around her."

Natsu gave him a smile at that "Sounds nice. Levy is a great girl; I think she might be a good for you. She's really smart and kind, so your complete opposite." He snickered and Gajeel punched him on the shoulder "You really are a dumbass. Here we are, all emotional having a deep conversation and then you have to ruin it." Natsu just laughed and stood up, offering Gajeel a hand to pull him up. "Well, we still have some time before the girls get back, you up for it?"

"Hell yeah."

* * *

Meanwhile, said girls said nestled away in a quiet corner of a nice tavern in town. Guards made sure that no one came too close or into earshot, so the patrons and occasional townsfolk just threw occasional glances at the two, who at the moment, were deeply engrossed in their conversation.

"So he caught you a fish? Just like that? Sounds kind of weird to me." Lucy remarked and Levy shook her head, quickly chewing the piece of mushroom she'd been eating. "No, no, it was actually very sweet! I tried to catch one of them for research purposes, but they were too fast for me. So he just pulled his shoes off and joined me. Like when Natsu plucked that peach for you! Remember, you told me how amazing it was that the emperor would do something like this for you. I felt the exact same! I mean he's a king and he willingly got his feet wet to help me look at a _fish_!" she emphasized the word fish and Lucy giggled at the excitement her best friend was showing

"Oh, Levy…you really like him, don't you? Don't try to deny it, you know I have a sixth sense for that!" Levy felt her chest heating up and she was about to deny everything, but then she looked at Lucy, seeing this knowing look only a friend can have. _She's like my sister, the one person I could talk to about this. _She took a deep breath to calm herself.

"He's so nice and thoughtful. I feel very connected to him and I do like him." Levy finally admitted, to Lucy and herself. Lucy squealed with happiness and gave the blue-haired maiden a big hug, but as she pulled back, she noticed the sadness on her friends face "Oh no, what is it? If he was mean to you, I swear to the ancestors, I _will _punch him!" Levy smiled at that "No, it's not that, promise. I wouldn't call him nice if he did something mean, now would I?" The blonde woman at her side nodded in agreement and stole one of Levy's mushrooms with her fork "So, why do you look sad when you talk about him?" she asked and put the food in her mouth before Levy could protest, but she seemed to not even take notice. "I'm afraid, Lu. I mean, I really like him, but I'm scared of feeling anything more than that." She sighed and nibbled at a slice of potato.

"What do you mean? I mean I can guess that you hint at romantic feelings, but why would you be afraid of that?" Lucy asked and scooted closer to Levy, as to not force her to talk too loudly. "I mean, look at it logically. We live in entirely different places, almost a week of travel between us. And where would it lead? Spin the hypothetical relationship, I could never even dream of marrying him! I'm a lowborn foreigner, even my status as royal scientist doesn't give me nearly enough status to marry the king of another kingdom, so it would just end badly. That's why I'm afraid. I don't want to hurt myself." The petite woman sighed and let her head hang down. Lucy gave her a shoulder squeeze and Levy looked up at her again "I think you're overthinking this, Lev. I've not seen you two together all that much, but I think he likes you if you can describe him as nice. He must really make an effort for you. And honestly, he's a hardhead, like his people. Natsu explained to me, that the people of Terya don't care much about status or birth, so don't be too scared, alright?" she tried to comfort her friend and Levy even managed a small smile.

"Alright, I promise I won't worry too much. Thanks Lu, you really made me feel better." Lucy smiled at her and gave her another squeeze "You're like my sister, and you can always tell me how you feel. Just let it come naturally. What do you say, get some sweet food and go back when we're finished here?" Levy nodded and they finished their food, Lucy telling her about all of her favourite Teryan sweets.

* * *

When the two women entered through the large outside gate, they could already hear labored breathing and grunts, mixed with the occasional yelling. Their guards led them around the main part of the castle onto the training grounds, to the source of the noises. Natsu had just ducked a blow from the iron king and was now trying to swipe his feet out from under him, but underestimated his opponent's weight and only made him stumble. He tried to use that moment of weakness to land a kick, and Gajeel barely managed to block it. He grabbed Natsus foot and turned into him, pushing his elbow into Natsus ribcage. The pink-haired man stumbled back and coughed "Man! What is it with you and my stomach today?" He held his sides and wheezed the air back into his lungs. "Shouldn't keep it open!" Gajeel retorted, and shrugged, rubbing the wrist that had connected with Natsus foot.

At that point, Lucy walked over to them, followed by a blushing Levy, who was cautiously holding a hand in front of her face. "Gajeel, could you please try to leave my husband intact?" she asked and both men turned towards the newcomers. Lucy reached them and gave Natsu a back rub and a kiss on the cheek, which made him grin brightly. Gajeel meanwhile, was confused as to the behavior of her companion, who was standing a few feet away, still covering her eyes. "Hey Levy, what is it? Why are you doing that?" He asked and went to collect his and Natsus water jugs from the ground. "You're both half naked and I'm not sure how appropriate it is to look at half naked kings. Or emperors. Or other people's husbands." She answered, still blushing, still trying to not look at him. Gajeel just laughed and handed Natsu his water "I survived the inappropriateness of seeing your bare ankle, It's fine by me. Quit pro quo." He tried to avoid his thoughts from going to the real quit pro quo factor of him seeing her chest, but ultimately failed. He busied himself with getting off his bandages while Natsu and Lucy also told Levy, that she didn't have to worry.

She let her hand fall back to her side and gasped when she got a look at the men "What did you two do to each other? You look like you fell down a hill made entirely of rocks and fists!" She pushed her brows together, seriously worried about the battered states the flame emperor and iron king had gotten themselves into. "Don't worry Levy, we'll just have some bruises tomorrow. And scrapes. And I'm pretty sure we'll be really sore. But Gajeel doesn't hit that hard." Natsu winked and laughed at the "Oi, Hotstuff, what were you wheezing about just a second ago?" he received from Gajeel. Lucy just shook her head at their banter, but Levy giggled, relieved that they seemed to not feel as bad as they looked. _They do look bad. Maybe…_an idea formed in her head as the four went inside to prepare for dinner.

* * *

After dinner, which was filled with good food and conversations about the days' shenanigans, everyone retreated to their rooms. Gajeel sat on his bed and was about to patch up his hand when he noticed a familiar tuft of blue hair outside. _Levy? What's she still doing out there? _He opened the glass door and went out into the garden to join her. She was walking toward the vegetable garden, and Gajeel followed her at a distance. After taking one look at the plant beds in front of her, she shook her head and walked off towards the herb garden. When she reached it, she let a "Aha!" escape her lips and clasped her hands together, before she took a closer look at the plants. Gajeel chuckled and went over to her. He coughed to make his presence known and she jumped before turning around.

"Oh, you startled me!" she exclaimed and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Sorry, didn't mean to. I noticed you were out and was curious as to why." Gajeel explained and gave the herbs in front of them a look as well. "Well, as head scientist, I was in charge of some rather large medical projects back home. Me and a group of doctors and sometimes writers or illustrators had to do various researches to write books about medicine or look for new ointments. So, I learned quite a bit about herbs and decided to use that knowledge for once." She bent down and plucked a few large leaves from a plant with pretty, purple blossoms. "Oh. So you're gonna poison me." Gajeel stated dryly and she laughed "Well yes, why else do you think I joined Lucy and came here. Only for that purpose." She came back up again and held the leaves out, giving Gajeel a look, so he put his hands out and she let her cargo fall into his palms. "Soo. Now where are you…" She went around the flower beds until she suddenly found a cluster of the yellow blossoms she had been looking for. She bent down again and picked a handful of them.

"Uhm, so let's assume that you're not trying to poison me, what are you picking and why?" Gajeel asked and Levy grinned "The leaves you're holding are from a plant called knitbone or comfrey. The blossoms I have are known as wolfsbane, their scientific name is arnica. They both can be ground up to create a good ointment against bruises and even sprains can be healed with their help. I want to grind them down to make you and Natsu healing poultices. I know you guys can deal with the pain, but your body would probably appreciate the help to heal all of this stuff" she explained as they made their way back toward the castle. "That's really nice and thoughtful of you." He remarked and she blushed when she recognized that he used the same words she'd used earlier to describe him. She thanked him and they went to his room, stopping by at the kitchen to fetch a mortar.

Gajeel opened the door to his chambers and let Levy step inside. She marveled at the size of the rooms, his living area was almost twice as large as her room, which she also thought of as relatively big. They sat down and Levy started grinding the herbs down in the mortar while they talked. She portioned them and wrapped them up in linen cloth. "Well, I'll get this to Natsu then. You just need to gently rub it over the areas that hurt or have already start bruising, it'll lighten the swelling and relive pain." She stood up and was about to walk to the door when Gajeel held her back. "Hey, erm. I kinda didn't want to ask you, but I kinda can't ask anyone else right now. If you don't want to, that's fine, too. But could you help me with getting it on the bruises on my back?" He asked and Levy got flustered at his request. "Oh, eh. You know what, it's fine, I'll help." She decided, remembering Lucy's advice to relax around him. And promptly threw that idea out of the window when he pulled his tunic over his head and her heart just about stopped.

She'd been flustered on the practice grounds, but hadn't really looked at him then. Now, she could see everything close up, every toned inch of his chest and every bunching muscle in his arms. Trying to regain a shred of her composure, she averted her eyes and busied herself with preparing the poultice. Gajeel turned his back to her and pulled his black mane over his shoulder. Levy, albeit still feeling very hot and flustered, looked carefully for any bruises or scrapes "Hey, you'll have to tell me what spots hurt, alright?" she warned him and pressed two of her fingers into a dark looking spot. Gajeel hissed and Levy quickly pulled her hand back "I take that as a yes?" she asked and received a nod. "You don't have to press so hard, y'know." Her patient muffed as Levy applied the herbs to the bruise. "Oh come on, weren't you bragging about feeling no pain earlier?" she teased and felt his back for more injuries. "That was just for Natsu. He doesn't need to know how good he got me. And he won't give that up, either." Gajeel chuckled, before Levy found another spot and he sucked the air in between his teeth. "Sorry!" she exclaimed and treated it.

She'd found everything after a few minutes and Gajeel was about to put his tunic back on when she held him back "Oh, don't put it on yet!" He gave her a curious look, that turned into a sly smirk "What, do you want a show or something?" he teased, grinning and Levy felt her chest heat up. "What?! No!" she shook her head and crossed her arms in front of her chest "It's just so you don't wipe off the ointment, you tease!" Gajeel laughed and turned back "Sure thing." He smiled and she gave him a grumpy look. "I'll get this to Natsu and Lucy, hopefully they're still awake." She stifled a yawn herself and Gajeel chuckled when he noticed her tired look "Hopefully you'll stay awake on the way." He remarked and followed her to the door. "I'll manage. Have a good night." She wished and gave him a tired smile as she opened the door. He held it open for her to step out and returned the wish, before she walked out into the corridor. Somehow he doubted that he would be able to get much sleep himself. He could still feel the sensation of her soft touches lingering on his back and it made his head spin, just how much he reacted to her.

* * *

**/**

**We'll see just how much more he will react in the future, hehe :P**

**I'm kinda proud of the fighting scenes in this one, I feel like they could look kinda cool. **

**I'll have to wrap this up quickly, but I still want to thank my amazing reviewers for motivating me:**

**Livalibus: They're just a perfect match ;)**

**finch6: I will, thanks for the review! Keep 'em coming ;D**

**DragonFlyFriday: Honestly, I'm teasing myself, too. But I do want to keep it realistic. Love your reviews :)**

**trienniagala: you're...welcome?! I just love how much you love it, makes me feel all fuzzy inside :3**

**Have an amazing weekend you magnificent people! **


	8. Chapter 8 - Habit

**AN: I'm really sorry that this one took longer, I got sick with my third cold this year :/ But I've been feeling better these days an wanted to give you the newest chapter ;)**

**In trying to refine my writing techniques, I re-read a lot of my favs, something I didn't do in a long time. And it was so worth it, reading about the FT gang doing their shenanigans gives me soooo much joy ;D **

**Passive Aggressive Post-it's is probably already well known in the community, but if you haven't read it yet, absolutely do it! It's long, well written and just super fun to read! I love it to bits!**

**Have fun reading :3**

* * *

Chapter 8 - Habit

"WHAT?! This place has a library and none of you told me?" Levy had to keep herself from just leaving the breakfast table and go looking for it, as everyone else was trying to stifle their laughter. "Sorry Lev, we wanted to at least see you this week, so that was the only way." Lucy chuckled and her petite friend got a flustered look on her face "Now you're over exaggerating, I'm not that bad." She grumbled, which earned her a giggle from Lucy and Natsu.

"Since we haven't really planned anything today, I could show you the library if you want. If anything, I can carry you back out, so we won't lose you to the books." Gajeel offered with a grin and Levy looked at him with stars in her eyes, not even hearing his last comment. "Really? I look forward to seeing it, thank you!" she smiled and happily dug into her breakfast again.

"Well, Lily will be on official business later, but maybe you guys will join us?" Gajeel then asked Lucy and Natsu, who looked at each other for a moment "I originally wanted to ask your guards or Lily to show me some new techniques, but Lucy heard that there will be some kind of eating contest in town later, you know I have to try it." Natsu grinned and Lucy added: "I will cheer him on, of course! You guys just go and have fun. But be warned Gajeel, you will be ignored." Levy gave her best friend a slightly offended look, but as the resident bookworm and librarian of the palace in Chrate, she couldn't exactly deny her statement.

* * *

"Before we go in, you have to promise that you will come out again. I have a hunch that Lucy wasn't over exaggerating earlier." Gajeel grinned and held his hand out to the petite woman at his side. She smiled and shook his hand. "Promise."

He nodded and opened the lock on the large doors, before pushing them open and holding his hand out again. Levy took it, still smiling and he led her inside, where she immediately fell into a state between shock and awe when she looked up.

"Oh…Jhuvaia help me. This is so incredible." She breathed and Gajeel just grinned at her starstruck look. She didn't even notice him, as she was way too busy with taking everything in.

She was standing on wood, instead of the ever present stone. Every possible wall was laced with books, even the parts where stairs spiraled like the house of a very bookish snail. The stairs ascended until they hit wood again, Levy felt as if she was standing in an endless loop of books. Every one of them was illuminated in the soft glow of the sun outside, streaming in through the coloured glass that made up many of the windows in the castle, letting the whole library shine in a colourful dance of light.

"I guess that means you like it?" Gajeel asked and Levy turned her head back to him "Are you kidding? Like? I _love _it!" in her excitement, she squeezed her hand around his, only now noticing that she was still holding it. But he started talking before she could really decide what to do about that.

"I can give you a tour if you want, show you how it's organized and where the best books are." He offered and she completely forgot about his hand at the words "best books", so she just nodded and he led her towards the shelves in front of them.

"Down here is the catalogue where we keep track of what books we have, when and how we got them and how to find them. Someone thought up a specific system, based on the way the tower is built. It's also the archive where we note everything that goes on in the castle, like spending, personnel matters and even marriages, deaths, births or coronations." He pulled two books out of the shelves and brought them over to a table facing the doors.

One was rather simple, bound in parchment and rather worn, while the other was more intriguing, bound in dark, soft leather with golden pattern inlays. Gajeel opened the leather-bound book and flipped a few pages, as Levy tried to peek inside. He stopped at a page with an intricately designed first letter, indicating a new chapter.

The Letter was an M and Levy read the rest of the word belonging to it "Metalicana…" she mumbled and Gajeel gave the page a fond look. "The name of my father. This is his page in the book of kings, detailing his coronation and accomplished feats as king of Terya."

Levy gave him a wide-eyed look "Oh, 'Book of Kings', that must be such an important book to the kingdom! Wait. Does this mean, you have a page as well?" She grinned slyly and carefully flipped the page, to find only his name. The letter G was still intricately drawn, but the page lacked any text, other than "Gajeel Redfox, seventeenth King of Terya". _What? But he is king, so why? _

Gajeel sighed "I was crowned right after the war, and the royal scribe had fallen to the rebels. We have records, of course, but they haven't found their way into the book yet." He explained and Levy closed the book again. "I would offer to do it, but I think my skills of inscribing are not quite good enough to write in such an important book." She explained sheepishly and Gajeel just smiled half-heartedly "It'll be there, eventually. The other book is one of the catalogues, I'm actually curious if you can figure out how our system works."

He nodded towards the worn out tome and Levy got that look on her face. Gajeel recognized it, she'd given him the same look when he proposed a race two days earlier; this immediate willingness to jump on a challenge that had bewitched him that day as well.

He watched the blue-haired woman as she carefully flipped through the pages, mumbling to herself "So…that's the main part…wait, what do these letters mean? Oh, right, it uses the tower. But why these numbers? Hmm…" she turned around and Gajeel gave her a questioning look, inclining his head for her to talk.

"I almost have it, but there is one thing that throws me off. So, the letters stand for the levels of the tower, and most of the books seem to be sorted by subject, according to the levels and their corresponding letters. Each level is sorted by numbers as well, that's what the larger numbers mean. The only thing I don't understand are these other underlined numbers, what are those for?" she explained and Gajeel started grinning, clearly impressed with her quick understanding. "They're indicating what size the books are. Come on, I'll show you." He held his hand out to Levy and she only hesitated for a moment, before she smiled and took it, following him to the stairs.

* * *

The two of them spent the next few hours in the library, Levy flitting from shelf to shelf, climbing the ladders almost as fast as the stairs. Sometimes she'd pull a book from its shelf and only flip through the first pages before putting it back. Some other times she'd sit down for longer, almost absorbing the pages, rather than reading them. Afterwards, the book in question would either return to the shelf or join an evergrowing stack that stretched through every level that had a table. Gajeel would follow her closely, providing some information here and there, helping her with the old Teryan dialect or just reading beside her. He didn't mind being ignored half the time, just watching her practically fly around the library gave him almost as much joy as seeing how careful she treated the books, almost as if they were livng beings. He decided that it was a very adorable quirk.

"So, will you come back on your own free will, or do I have to throw you in a bag and carry you out?" Gajeel grinned and looked up at Levy, who was standing on top of a ladder, trying to get a book from a particularly high shelf. "I promised you, didn't I? Although, not making me promise when exactly I had to leave wasn't a particularly good idea." She turned her head around, giving him a wink and a smirk, which Gajeel just answered with a raised eyebrow.

She was about to turn around gain, but she'd leaned too far back and the momentum caught up to her, causing her to lose her balance. The ladder started to fall back when she tried to regain it, and Levy felt her heart skip several beats when she found herself falling with it. She let out a startled scream and braced herself for the impact on cold hard ground. Instead, she only heard the ladder clatter onto said ground and found herself to have a much…softer landing.

"Are you gonna make a habit out of that?" Gajeel asked when she'd calmed down and looked up at him from her landing spot in his arms. "Well, you're always catching me." She answered with a bright grin and he almost dropped her on the spot. "Guess I am." He smiled softly and set her back onto her feet. Remembering Lucy's support and advice to act on her feelings, Levy gathered all of her courage, stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. When he gave her a surprised look, she just smiled and said "Thanks for looking out for me."

She was about to turn back to the books when a large hand pulled her back softly and she turned back, confused.

Her heart melted when she saw the overflow of emotions on Gajeels face. Happiness, uncertainty and so much longing danced across it, she wondered how he could have hidden so well in the past. She looked into his eyes and everything was suddenly alright, her own uncertainty and anxiety being replaced with the warmth of his hands and the pure excitement beating fast in her chest.

When he cradled her face in his hand and pulled her against his chest with the other, she wrapped her arms around his neck and their lips met in a duet that only two united hearts can sing.

Their kiss was soft, careful and tender at first, but when Gajeel was about to pull back, Levy captured him again; not wanting this moment to end, relishing in the contrast of strong arms and soft lips when he answered with the same intensity. There they stood, fallen ladder long forgotten, at the top of the library tower, only breaking the kiss when they couldn't contain their respective smiles any longer.

"I didn't expect how much I wanted this." Gajeel admitted breathlessly and Levy giggled, burying her face against his neck. "Well, I'm glad you do." She answered, still giggling and breathless, but Gajeel just grinned and hugged her tighter.

* * *

**/**

**Finally! Right? ;)**

**I was actually not sure if I wanted to end this chapter here, but then it just felt right. **

**The real action will start after this one, I actually have some more stuff planned for this universe, even though I have many ideas for other fics. I'll probably write something more modern after this, but we'll see. **

**I hope you liked this chapter, you're all welcome to leave reviews :)**

**To my amazing, motivating reviewers:**

**finch6: don't worry, the action will only increase from here ;)**

**Livalibus: Am I the only on who squeals with joy when other ff's describe him as an ehrm, quote "balck-haired sex-god"? honestly, it's what he deserves. And the thruth ;D Thanks for reassuring me about the ending :3**

**trienniagala: ashkdj, yes I know, and it motivates me so much, thamks :3**

**Dragonfly2311: Wow, thanks, that's really nice of you to say! Hope you liked this one :)**

**Have an amazing week, you passive-aggressive people ;)**

**(Seriously, read it!)**


	9. Chapter 9 - Love

**AN: I'M SO SORRY! *hectic bows of apology***

**Aaah, it took way too long to write this chapter, I made the biggest mistake that any writer can make - started another story. I was so caught up in this new one and right when I was about to come back and finish this chapter Uni started back up and kicked my ass D:**

**I felt so bad to make you guys wait so long, but now I hope I'm back to the grind!**

**Have some angsty fluff my lovely readers :3**

* * *

Chapter 9 - Love

At Gajeels request, Levy decided to stay in Farkesi for some more weeks, much to the surprise of Lucy and Natsu. When the new couple told them the reason for her prolonged stay, both of them were overjoyed, even though they voiced their surprise at the sudden blossoming of a relationship. Lucy, while hugging Levy even went as far as threatening Gajeel directly, promising to hurt him in every way possible, should he break her best friend's heart. After assuring her that he had no such intentions, he received a hug from the very happy blonde as well, Natsu kept his congratulations to a pat on the back of the black-haired man and a hug for Levy.

When the time for Natsu and Lucy to return home rolled around, Levy and Lucy shed many tears over their approaching separation, and hugged each other for quite some time before Lucy stepped into the carriage to make the long drive home with an already sick emperor at her side.

Gajeel and Levy used the opportunity of having the townsfolk gathered, to announce their relationship to the people of Farkesi, and therefore Terya. Gajeel, not wanting to overwhelm Levy, made clear that their announcement did not contain any marriage plans and that she was to be treated respectfully, but not extraordinarily.

Albeit having chambers to her own, Levy spent most of the next four weeks in the library or wandering around the garden, usually accompanied by Gajeel, who enjoyed doing work far more when his little bluenette was around. Sometimes they'd ride out into the landscape, Levy falling more and more in love with Terya's wild nature and it's wild king. They'd explore the old forests together, visit starstruck farmers on their fields and even walked on the beach, something Levy thoroughly enjoyed, as it reminded her of her home, the isles of Mrithar. The collection of seashells and rocks from this day were now proudly displayed in her chambers.

Currently, the two lovebirds were riding onto the castlegrounds after their latest trip outside castle walls, Gajeel as usually on Scenja, Levy this time on Shiro, a young white stallion, who had become her ususal ride since Lily had become busier and she couldn't keep Tinto any longer. Her training the young horse just meant that the two of them couldn't go full speed on the usual races on their way back, so she'd gotten used to losing to Gajeel and Scenja. So, as usual, Gajeel arrived first and had already hopped off when Levy and Shiro came barreling after him.

"Damn, I hoped we'd catch up to you this time!" she called out and reigned the horse to a stop. "You almost did! You guys really got faster, maybe you'll beat us next time!" Gajeel answered and held his hands up to her in an attempt to help her down from the tall Shiro. She swung her leg over Shiro's head and all but jumped into her boyfriend's arms who took the opportunity that she was on his height for a kiss, hugging her tight to her chest and capturing her lips with a soft smile before he sat her down on the ground.

They had been quite shy about kissing at first, especially Levy hesitated to kiss Gajeel whenever they were around other people, but after a while they'd gotten used to it and Gajeel loved sneaking kisses from his petite girlfriend.

"Now you're over-exaggerating, he's going to be fast someday, but he still got a way to go." Levy remarked when she was back on the ground and gripped Shiro's reigns to lead him back to the stables. "Well, he's gonna do amazin' if you continue training him!" Gajeel answered and was about to follow her with Scenja when other hooves came galloping up behind him, prompting him to hesitate. Levy stopped as well and both of them turned towards the gates, where Lily now raced in on Tinto, looking positively shellshocked.

"Lily? Thought you weren't due to be back until tomorrow? And why do you look like you saw a dragon?" Gajeel called out to his friend who barely managed to stop Tinto from barreling into the iron king.

"We have a problem Gajeel. A big one!" the large cat yelled and jumped off of his horse, almost collapsing to the ground.

"What? Lily, take a breath, it can't be that bad."

"Oh it IS that bad. You remember the report about strange behavior that came in from the guards tower at the border to Erkar? Well, when I arrived the situation had gotten worse. Apparently Erkar is sending a huge amount of troops to the border and I'm pretty sure that they will invade us very soon."

"WHAT? I thought they had close to no troops? Our last reports were that they're still recovering from their hassle with that weird sickness!" Gajeels mind was racing, he tried to think of a reason why their neighbor would try to provoke Terya like this while wondering how they got so many troops so quickly.

"I have even worse news." Lily had finally recovered and stood up straight. A servant had already led Tinto away and was now approaching Levy. She thanked him before giving him the reigns of Scenja and Shiro. When she walked up to the two men, Gajeel laid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, without so much as looking. She leaned against him and continued to listen to the conversation.

"I don't know how they got back on their feet so quickly, but I'm assuming they either did it in secret or worse, probably found our spy and sent false reports. I have no idea what exactly they want from us, but I assume they think we're too weakened to fight back. And the only thing I can think of to recover strength that quickly is magic. Strong magic."

Levy could almost feel Gajeels breath hitch together with her own. Teryans were known for great strength in battle, tough stubborn fighters, but they weren't very versatile concerning magic or strategy. If they faced an opponent who knew to utilize magic in a way efficient enough to build an army, their numbers could decrease quickly. Erkar obviously knew that.

"Alright. Lily, would prepare a room where we can talk in peace and strategize? I need to talk with Levy and then we'll make a plan. We also need to notify the commanders as soon as we have an overview over the situation."

Lily nodded and hurried inside the castle, calling out for several servants along the way. Levy looked up at Gajeel, who seemed deep in thought. She reached out and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. "Come on." She took his hand and he let her tug him along into the garden. She'd already picked up on the fact that he seemed to be calmer and more relaxed next to the stream behind the garden, that looked like a good option right now.

* * *

When they arrived, she gently pushed Gajeel down onto the ground next to the willow and he leaned against the rugged bark. She sat down beside him and leaned into his side. He wrapped his arm around her and sighed.

"You need to go home."

Levy tensed at his words, but she knew the truth behind them. War was not to be trifled with and she would be safer in Chrate. She knew that very well, but yet, the words coming out of her mouth didn't exactly reflect that.

"No. I won't leave your side."

"Levy, you're the smartest person I know. You know as well as I do that you're not safe here. You need to go back to Chrate, far away from the harm that could be done to you here."

"I know…but I don't want to leave you." She buried her face in his chest and he kissed the top of her head.

"Listen, Lev. I don't want you to leave either. But I'd rather have you leave than to lose you. I can't lose you. You're too important to me. More important to me than myself."

"Don't say that, I'll already be worried sick about you. Your life matters to me, more than you could imagine." She then realized what else his words meant. She was a liability. Erkar would probably get the information about their relationship and that would not only put her in danger but Gajeel and Terya as well. She sighed, not wanting to be responsible for his possible downfall, she made her decision.

"Fine. I will leave the day after tomorrow."

Gajeel pulled her closer and wrapped both of his arms around his small girlfriend before burying his nose into her neck to inhale her scent. He slowly came to notice that she had more than a positive effect on his feelings, feeling her warmth and heartbeat and breathing her scent calmed his mind in a way he had never known before.

He was a driven man, ever since he was a boy his thoughts were running and in an effort to quiet his mind he had tried to focus on being as physical as possible. Fighting had been a good way to focus and forget the motor running hot in his head. But after a while or after a war to be more precise, fighting didn't have this effect anymore, it even began to have a completely opposite effect and he'd been left with the whirlwind in his head again. But Levy had the inexplicable ability to calm the storm just by being there, close to him.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

She snuggled closer, hiding her face against his shoulder.

"Anything."

"I know you like to sleep in your own room, but I don't want to be alone right now. Would you wait in my room and stay with me tonight?"

She pulled away from the hug, making him look at her. She put her hand against his cheek and pulled him down to her level. She gave him a quick kiss on the nose and smiled softly.

"Sure. I'll try to be there for you as much as possible."

* * *

Gajeel waved goodnight to Lily and picked up his pace, almost running, desperate to reach his room, and hopefully the salvation named Levy waiting for him.

He shut the door behind him and stumbled to his bedroom where he found his bluenette sitting on his bed, reading a book. He walked over and just let himself fall down on the bed facefirst, pulling her along with him.

She managed to close the book before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her snug against his chest. They stayed like this until Levy could feel her boyfriend's heartbeat slowing down and even further until she got too uncomfortable about being used like a cushion.

"I'll put the book away and then I'm by your side again, okay?"

Gajeel just nodded and released her, sitting up together with her. She picked the book up and brought it to the living room, smoothing her dress out along the way. When she returned, she found Gajeel sitting at the foot of the large bed, his hair hanging in front of him, his head hung low, hunched over and defeated he seemed small against the large piece of furniture.

She sighed and walked over to him, wiggling in between his legs she laid her hands on his back and gently pulled his head to rest against her belly. She started rubbing small circles into his shoulders prompting him to relax, his hands came up and sneaked around her to came to rest on her back.

.

.

"I'm scared Lev."

"I know."

"I'm never scared."

"It's alright to be scared."

"Erkar is way too strong."

"I know."

"I don't think we can beat them."

"You're scared for your people."

"Yes."

"You're afraid of losing Terya."

"Yes."

"I'm afraid of losing you."

"I know. Me too."

She took her hands from his back and cradled his face in her palms making him look up at her before leaning down and planting a featherlight kiss on his forehead. Their foreheads touched and stayed like this for a moment, caught up in a conversation that no one could hear, in a language only they understood.

Gajeel opened his eyes and took it all in, her blue curls, the faint freckles on her small nose, her soft lips. The light from the candles she had lit around the room illuminated her and his mind instantly compared her to a fairy again. His fairy, who had granted him the wish he didn't realize he had.

"I love you."

A wet feeling made itself known on his cheeks and he wondered if he might actually be crying of fear. But the he noticed the drops falling onto his face from blue lashes. When Levy opened her eyes to reveal the tears building up inside of them he could see the swirl of his own emotions mirrored in them. He tightened his grip around her and leaned in to kiss the tears away that were now streaming down her own cheeks, but the crying woman in his arms captured his lips in a kiss filled with desperation

"I love you, too."

* * *

**I. Love. Them.**

**And I love yooouuuu, my beloved readers and reviewers! You make me soooooo happy and I felt like garbage knowing that I left you hanging.**

**So, to my amazing reviewers: **

**Livalibus: Ugh, I feel so honored that you like all of this so much and I hope you'll also like the next story I'm already working on :)**

**Firiare: TAKE THIS FLUFF MY GOOD SIR! **

**trienniagala: Heart emojis to you too my friend! Have even more floofy fluff, aren't they the bestest, cutest everrrrr?**

**Dragonfly2311: It was over quickly, thankfully, thanks for your wishes :3 Hope you liked this one as well ;)**

**Vancouvermoon: Your review actually kinda pulled me out of my writers block, knowing that you binged it and liked it gave me my motivation back, so thaaaaamks :3**

**Have an amazing day you amazing, wonderful, incredible people :3**


	10. Chapter 10 - Goodbye

**AN: Hey Guys, I'm back! **

**I'm so sorry, I said I'd try to upload sooner, but life said no. As I feared, getting back into the Uni life has taken it's tolls. I just don't have the time to write that I had before. **

**Also, my mental health has taken a dent, which made inspiration or motivation difficult. I'm better again, don't worry, but writing is not always as easy as I'd like.**

**The upload rate will probably stay like 2-3 weeks, I just can't write faster, especially since I'm working on another story parallel to this one. I'll upload it in due time, but it will have longer chapters and so far I'm overall only at about 15000 words, which is not enough for me yet, lol.**

**So, enough with the serious talk, as always, I hope you enjoy it and I hope you're all still on board with my story!**

**Have fun reading, lovelies!**

* * *

Chapter 10 – Goodbye

Gajeel felt himself waking up, but didn't want to open his eyes yet and turned around, still half asleep. He noticed his hands hitting an object and he remembered that Levy was in his bed when her scent wafted towards him. He grinned, carefully pushed his left arm under her neck, scooted closer and wrapped his right arm around her small figure. The petite woman probably woke up from her sleep as well, but she just made a few small, sleepy noises and snuggled further into the embrace of her boyfriend. Gajeels heart pounded harder, overcome with love and the urge to protect the cute little fairy who'd stolen his heart.

They snoozed together like this until a knock on the door woke them up. Well, it woke Gajeel up, the half-conscious, half-asleep state that it put Levy in didn't really count as awake. He detangled himself from their embrace, much to the discontent of the blue-haired woman in his arms. She let out a little growl and started cuddling a big pillow, which made Gajeel chuckle as he stood from the bed and made his way over to the door, still in his sleeping attire, even forgetting his crown.

He opened the large piece of wood and the servant in front of it bowed. "I apologize for the disturbance, your majesty. Some of your generals will arrive today and Master Lily has requested me to inform you that he will require your assistance in the strategy room."

"Tell him I'll be there soon. Please ask one of the kitchen maids to get me some breakfast there as well. I don't care what. You're dismissed, thank you."

The servant bowed again and walked away quickly as Gajeel closed the door. He sighed and rubbed his temples, he'd almost forgotten the crisis his beloved kingdom was facing with his even more beloved woman around. But now it had to be dealt with and Lily needed him.

Gajeel got dressed and went over to the large bed with the blue-haired fairy inside. He took a few moments to take a look at her.

She was illuminated by the morning sun filtering through the windows. She'd turned around, facing it, but didn't seem to be disturbed and Gajeel grinned to himself. Only one night and he'd already noticed that she was a real stone when sleeping. He himself woke up frequently, rarely sleeping through the night, but now he could look at her whenever he did wake from a nightmare or just plain habit and her calm presence calmed him down enough to go back to sleep himself.

Her mouth was open slightly, her full, pink lips puckered, almost begging for a kiss. Blue curls fell over her eyes and onto her pale cheek, one had even landed in the cupped hand next to her face. Again, Gajeel was overcome with his love for this small, incredible woman and carefully sat down next to her. He gently pushed a strand of her away from her cheek and replaced it with a soft kiss. She woke up from this and her hand reached for him blindly. He chuckled and caught it with his own, causing her to open her eyes. The sunlight hitting hazel irises reminded him of the sparkle of the sun on the river they had visited together so many times already.

"Mornin' sleepyhead."

"gwud mworign"

"Ghihee, you're cute when you're sleepy. Listen, I'll be away for some time, Lily needs me for strategy."

"mhm"

"Will you sleep here tonight as well?"

"Hmm, yes!" she was now fully awake and smiled brightly at the prospect of falling asleep next to Gajeel in his huge, wonderfully comfortable bed.

"I'll leave now, the generals are coming today, so I think we can only see each other this evening."

"That's fine, but you'll have to pay me in cuddling for it!"

"Sure, I'll remember it. See you later then."

With that he leaned down and they shared a few goodbye kisses before he stood up and made his way outside. Shortly after, Levy got up as well and stretched her sleep-tightened muscles. She decided to visit Shiro after breakfast, she'd gotten quite attached to the young horse, but also knew that he needed a lot more training before he was suitable for more inexperienced riders than her. She wanted to spend at least a few more hours with him before she had to leave the next day.

She returned to her room and got dressed in her riding breeches and dark blouse, combined with a belt and one of her usual headbands. _Oh, Mary is probably wondering where I am, I should go find her! _Following that thought, she walked outside of her room and started a short trek towards the kitchen. After a good month she finally knew her way around Farkesi castle and even knew some of the servants beside Mary. Still, the young woman had remained her personal maid and they had become more friendly with each other.

When Levy arrived at the kitchen, she knocked and the door was opened by a young girl who immediately bowed when she spotted the blue-haired woman.

"Oh, good morning, Milady."

"Good morning, Sarah, was it?"

"Yes!" The girl smiled until a voice behind her called out.

"Sarah, who is at the door? Don't just stand there, let them in!"

Sarah stepped aside and made a gesture for Levy to come in, so she walked down the few stone steps as the blonde maid closed the door behind her. Margaret, the head chef and overseer of the kitchen bowed when she saw who their guest was.

"Good morning Miss Levy! What brings you to us?"

"Hello Margaret! I was actually looking for Mary; I know that she works here sometimes. And I hoped to grab a quick breakfast as well."

Before Margaret could answer, Mary herself peeked out from behind a shelf

"Miss Levy! I was wondering where you were this morning!"

Levy froze when she realized that she didn't exactly want to tell half of the kitchen staff where she'd spent the night. They would probably tell others and she didn't even want to imagine the gossip. _I didn't think this through. _She came up with the quickest excuse she could think of.

"Hello Mary! I woke up early so I went for a walk in the garden. I wanted to find you so you wouldn't worry."

"I was slightly worried, but I figured you were exploring again." They both chuckled and Levy's stomach grumbled.

"You need breakfast, Miss Levy! Come here, I'll whip something up for you." That was Margaret, now on her way to the large stove.

"Thank you, oh, can you make these little, sticky sweetcakes again? I'll also need some carrots and apples."

"Sure, takes just a few minutes! Mary, be a darling and get her the carrots and apples."

Levy sat down and waited for her cakes, watching the maids rustle around the kitchen while Margaret prepared some dough and heated butter in a large pan atop the fire. She fried small, round pieces of dough in the hot butter and threw them in a bowl with some honey.

Levy thanked her, took the bowl, a bunch of fresh carrots and a few apples, packed them into a basket and bid farewell to Margaret and the other girls in the kitchen. She didn't tell them of her departure, as it was something she herself had to come to terms with first.

When she arrived at the stables, she sat down to eat and started thinking. There was something besides Gajeel that made her want to stay in Farkesi.

She felt at home in the cozy castle, more than she felt at the palace in Rhyacus, the capital of Chrate. Sure, she loved the library, but it was about the only place she was comfortable in and even there, privacy was a rare occurrence. The palace was so big, she only saw about half of it in the six years she'd been living there, even during her time as a maid. She knew that she also had responsibilities back home, but she already dreaded to see the pretentious clerics and scientists she'd have to deal with on a daily basis again. All she wanted to do is explore, analyse, research at her own pace. But instead she'd have to get the approval of several other people before she could even do a field trip. She realized how unfree she'd been in her work these past few years and how much she liked to just go out into the woods and start looking for new things, like picking flowers and comparing them to the botany books in the Castle library. She told herself that it wouldn't be forever, that she'd return to this new, free life she'd found so expectantly, but she realized, that it could very well take years before Terya was safe enough for her to return. She sighed deeply and shook her head, hopped from the hay bale she'd been sitting on to eat and grabbed a carrot. No use dwelling on it, she'd made her decision and she'd have to live with what was coming.

She was about to head to Shiro's box when a strange, tingly feeling crept up the base of her neck and she turned around.

* * *

Gajeel opened the door to his chambers and heaved himself in. A full day of strategizing with strong, stubborn men was more draining than getting beaten up by Lily.

"Hey Levy, I'm back and ready to pay my debt!"

He walked around his rooms looking for her, but couldn't find her anywhere, so he figured she must have ventured into the garden. Right before he went outside to look for her, he noticed that her book was still lying untouched on the table by the sofa. _Huh, a whole day without a book? Maybe not the garden after all. _He chuckled, as he pictured the petite woman hunched over a book, candle at her side and completely forgetting the time. _So, library it is. _

But the library was still locked when he arrived. He'd given her the spare key, figuring she could use it, but she usually didn't lock up behind her. Nevertheless, he opened the large door and peeked inside, only to find the library empty. No light and no Levy.

He sighed and locked the door again, now he had to walk through half of the castle to get into the garden again. Shaking his head, he grumbled to himself, now grumpy that his intuition had failed him. On the way there he also checked her room, but that was uninhabited as well.

He walked through the garden, on the lookout for blue hair shining in the pale light of the moon, but she was nowhere near the kitchen or flower gardens. He checked his spot, but had no luck either. Now he was slowly running out of options, the only other things he could think of were the kitchen, the castle yard and the stables. He couldn't imagine that she was at any of these places so late in the evening, but he decided to give the kitchen a try, maybe some of the gossipy maids had seen her.

He arrived at the unusually calm kitchen. It was seldom so empty, but the late hour was probably to blame for that. Two maids he vaguely recognized were busy preparing large glasses, presumably to pickle any leftover vegetables the garden was giving in such abundance. They almost didn't notice him, but when they did, they shirked away from him and bowed deeply, waiting for him to pass before resuming their duties. He always felt too large and like too much of a presence in the small, cozy kitchen and hurried his steps.

He finally found someone he was sure would be able to give him a clue about his bluenette's whereabouts.

"Good evening Margaret."

The poor chef almost dropped the pan she was holding and barely managed to catch herself and the utensil. She put it down gently and bowed.

"Good evening, your Majesty. Can I help you with something to such an advanced hour?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Levy, has she been here? Maybe told you something about her plans?"

"She's been here indeed, but only in the morning to get her breakfast and some fruit."

"Hrm. That's not as much help as I'd hoped, but thank you for the information." He turned around and was walking away when Margaret called after him:

"Your Majesty! I don't know where she is right now, but Mary, Miss Levy's personal maid could know more. The two of them like to talk and she was here this morning also!"

"Oh. I'll look for her then. Thank you Margaret, have a good night."

"Likewise, your Majesty."

He left the kitchen and turned towards the stairs, not down, to the servants quarters, but up, to where Lily had claimed a few rooms as his own. He needed the help of his friend. Said friend seemed to have still been up, the door opened almost instantly when Gajeel knocked on the hard wood.

"Oh, it's you."

"Well I'm terribly sorry to disappoint. Who were you expecting?"

"No one, especially not you. What's the matter?" Lily looked and sounded as tired as Gajeel felt, the day had been exhausting for everyone involved.

"I can't find Levy anywhere. Margaret says that her maid, Mary, could know where she went, but I don't want to wake up all the servants or Kofu. Can you help me find her?"

"That's easy, she's sharing a room with Shagotte."

"Well how do you know that?"

"Don't wriggle your non-existent eyebrows at me, Gajeel. They're the newest here, so they're sharing a room. I helped Shagotte set up if you remember? I met her as well."

"Fine, then let's go, I'm getting nervous."

* * *

They set off to the servant floor and knocked on the door of the room the girls shared. Shagotte opened the door after a few moments, looking very tired with a candle in her paw. It was the first time Gajeel met the female exceed and he grinned to himself when he looked at his best friend, whose eyes were soft with adoration. Lily could evade his questions all he wanted, he definitely was interested in the pretty maid. While Lily resembled a panther, Shagotte was quite a bit smaller, more akin to the grey spotted cats that lived around the peaks of Hu'tlhur. A cute, round face and small, fluffy ears fit perfectly to the big blue eyes she was now rubbing sleepily.

"Oh, hello Lily, what brings you here so late?" She hadn't noticed Gajeel yet, he was standing a few steps behind his large friend. The iron king snickered when Shagotte called the castles swordmaster and resident protocol overseer by his first name. _He'll never hear the end of this._

"Good evening Shagotte I'm sorry to disturb you. Is Mary with you?" At that, a small voice called out from behind the door.

"I'm here!" Seconds later, Mary emerged at Shagotte's side "What do you need, Sire?"

"Actually, Gaj-The king needs to know something." The tired Exceed caught his slip, but Gajeel couldn't care less and pushed beside him. Mary bowed instinctively and Shagotte followed her hastily.

"It's fine. Shagotte, as lovely it would be to meet you, I fear that pressing matters are at hand. You can go to bed, I don't wish to keep you from sleep longer than necessary." Shagotte nodded, bowed again and passed the candle holder to Mary before vanishing into the darkness of the room.

"Mary, I'm looking for Levy, would you happen to know where she could be beside the garden or the library?"

"Oh. Miss Levy is missing? I assume she isn't in her chambers?" Gajeel flinched a little when Mary used the word 'missing', he wasn't ready to call it that.

"Yes, and I haven't seen her on my walk through the castle either. Margaret mentioned that you were with her in the kitchen this morning?"

"I was. She came to us for breakfast. I couldn't find her in her room this morning, but figured she was out exploring. She also told me as such. She didn't exactly tell me anything about her plans, but she took her food outside, together with apples and carrots. If my memory serves me right, she was dressed in riding breeches."

Gajeel felt a wave of relief, he hadn't really considered the stables as a location, but he could imagine that Levy had overdone a training day with Shiro. She loved the young horse and could forget time with him just as much as with her books.

"She might be at the stables then, thank you Mary." He grabbed Lily and was about to turn around when Mary spoke up.

"Wait, can I accompany you? I haven't seen her all day and I'm slightly worried!" She was about to slip into her shoes, but Lily interjected.

"Mary, we don't want you to lose any more sleep. If you are worried, I will come here and tell you when we found her."

"Thank you, Sire, that is very kind of you."

With that Gajeel pulled Lily away from the door and Mary closed it before shuffling to her bed.

* * *

Lily could feel the Iron king quicken his pace and he knew that he had to keep himself from outright running. He himself was quite worried about the blue-haired woman, so he understood how anxious his friend must feel.

They arrived at the courtyard and hurried over to the stables. Right before they arrived, Lily felt his whole body tingle in a familiar sense as every hair in his body stood on end and all of his instincts screamed one thing. _DANGER_

He gripped Gajeel's shoulders, pushed him behind his own body and came to a halt.

"Lily…what?"

"I sense danger Gajeel. I don't know why or where, though."

Gajeel immediately tensed and assumed a fighting stance as they inched forward. The yard in front of them was full of footsteps, but Gajeel couldn't see anything that seemed dangerous.

After some looking around they found Levy's Headband beside on of the hay bales, as well as a basket with some carrots and a bowl.

"The sense of danger is fading; or maybe I'm getting used to it. Let's go look for Levy, but we should keep being careful."

They went into the stables and Gajeel immediately walked over to the box usually holding Shiro. The door was open and the box empty, so he turned around and went to the training grounds, Lily following him closely. They didn't find either Levy or Shiro anywhere and were about to turn back to the castle doors when Lily's hairs stood on end again.

"I smell blood. From over there!" he dashed to the secret pathway that Gajeel and Levy usually used to leave castle grounds. The iron king felt his heart speed up, and he ran after Lily, passing him and barrelling along the path until he could smell the tin-like smell of blood himself and stopped dead in his tracks. He saw a dark shape along the path and his blood ran could. Lily ran past him towards the dark shape and kneeled down.

"It's a guard!" he called out. Gajeel started breathing again as the clouds parted and a full moon illuminated the rest of the pathway, revealing several other shapes, he identified them as guards as well. Their breastplates and helmets shone wherever they weren't coated in blood, their shields and weapons scattered around. The entire path showed other, clear signs of a fight, stirred up ground, damaged foliage and blood splatter everywhere.

"No…" Gajeel just breathed as Lily walked back up to him.

"Looks like someone took her and I'm pretty sure it was Erkar… I think we won't find her Gajeel." He was about to lay a paw on his friend's shoulder but jumped back when his instincts screamed **danger** again, only now he had a clear sense of direction about it.

It was coming from his king.

A surge of power erupted from Gajeel, making the ground shake and rustling the leaves of nearby trees and bushes. Lily could swear he glowed green for a second and all the hairs of his fur stood up straight when the man in front of him spoke. Gajeel always had a rather low, gravelly baritone, but that didn't even come close the growl that now erupted from the black haired man's throat.

"Erkar has declared war upon us. And they will pay the price for what they did."

The iron king turned around and Lily had to keep himself from running away upon the sight of his king. His eyes were glowing in an unnaturally red colour, his arms covered in metallic scales, his hands like claws with huge equally metal talons. His hair seemed wilder and an aura of power radiated from him, making the surrounding air flicker like summer heat. Gajeel snarled and showed off elongated fangs and sharper teeth than humans should have. Lily had seldom been this terrified, yet he couldn't help but wonder if Erkar knew the consequence of their actions.

_A dragon is coming after them. _

* * *

**/**

**Bet'cha didn't see that one coming. **

**Please tell me if I you notice any plotholes or other mistakes, I have a feeling that I mentioned Chrate's capital under another name already. **

**I have an elaborate plan to implement magic in this world and will embed that in the next chapters, just so you know that Gajeel's transformation doesn't come from nothing and I actually have a plan for it. **

**I have a question for my wonderful reviewers (or readers): Is anyone of you a beta reader/ has interest in beta reading my new chapters and the new story I mentioned? If any of you are interested, PM me ;)**

**On the topic of wonderful reviewers:**

**Dragonfly2311: Yay to you for the review! I hope you'll like this one too, sorry to keep you waiting *bows* ;P**

**trienniagala: *heart emojiiiis* I love them too, did you see the bonus chapter of the 100 year quest? A-ma-zing! I also love your reviews, your enthusiasm makes me really happ :3**

**Vancouvermoon: wow, two reviews! thank you, I hope you like this one as well! You're very helpful :3**

**Have an amazing week, until we see each other again!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Apart

**AN: A new chapter, yay!**

**Winter depression is kicking in and making writing even slower, but reading your reviews give me back my motivation! Thanks :3 I love reading that people found my baby and liked it enough to binge it, makes me very proud and happy :D**

**This is a bit of a filler/set-up for what comes next, hope you still like it.**

**Have fun reading :3**

* * *

Chapter 11 – Apart

_Where am I? What are those sounds? _Levy felt like she was floating. Vague memories rose to the surface of her half-conscious mind, all of the times she'd gone to the beach with her parents or swam in the ponds of the castle in Rhyacus with Lucy and the other ladies of the palace. Occasionally, shreds of a conversation would reach her ears and she wondered what they were saying, but she was just too tired to understand anything. The only thing she felt was a strange calm, like she was diving in deep water. But she wasn't alone, the warm feeling of another human made itself known on her back _Gajeel? No, it can't be him, this doesn't feel like him at all. I wish he was here…but wait, what even is here? I can't…think…maybe…if I sleep… _She felt her mind slipping back into unconsciousness and an image of the familiar face of her love formed just before she succumbed to the fatigue.

* * *

Gajeel awoke with a startle. After Lily finally managed to calm his dragon-like rage he'd stumbled back to his room in a stupor. He couldn't think, he couldn't sleep, at last he couldn't even move. He'd sat down on his bed and must have sat there for hours, or minutes, he didn't know and he couldn't care. Somewhere along the way he must've laid down and fallen asleep, only to be plagued by the same nightmare over and over again. Levy being hurt, abused, killed; reaching for him, her beautiful face twisted in anguish and horror, yet he couldn't do anything but scream in frustration when she slipped away from him.

He let his head sink into his hands and drew in a few shaky breaths. He knew he had to do something, he had to get his act together for her sake.

He had to save her.

But it was hard. He'd never felt so lost, so helpless. Even in the last war, he was constantly on edge, hungry for fighting. After the death of his father nothing else made sense anymore, nothing else mattered. If he won, he would go on to the next fight. If he died it would be over. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing mattered, his own life was nameless and without meaning, without value. But now it was so different, he actually felt like he could lose something.

He could lose her.

_NO! No, no, no, no, no! _It was the only clear thought he had, everything else was a maelstrom of fear, anger, frustration, guilt and above all, crippling, mind-numbing despair. He'd repeat the word over and over whenever his thoughts went to a place too dark for his fragile self to bear. It was the only thing keeping him from going mad with fear and wrath.

* * *

"…'ll want her to…rk right aw…ink. King Ha..s is an imp…ent man."

"Yeah! And he…to finally destroy th…stupid Terya. They ha..e become way too cocky."

"What do you mean destroy? We'll save the barbarians from themselves and lead them to eternal salvation!"

"Sure, as long as I get to kill some of those bastards…"

_What are they saying? Who even are these people? _Levy had finally awoken fully from her deep sleep and was getting increasingly panicky as her situation became clearer. She was rocking back and forth, apparently on horseback, couldn't move or open her eyes yet, but the muffled voices sneaked into her ears uninvited. _What is that? Poison? Magic? Am I just tightly bound? No, I can't feel a blindfold. Must be something else. _She started remembering what had happened. She'd awoken in Gajeels arms and visited the kitchen after he left. She had been sad and went on a quick stroll around the orchard on Shiro. She also remembered having this weird feeling but brushing it off. Then, as they were about to head back, everything turned dull and after some time, black. _Oh no. Erkar probably took me for leverage against Gajeel. NO! This is why I wanted to go home!_

She still couldn't open her eyes, but felt tears forming in them when she slowly realized how dire her situation was and how it could hurt the man she loved, as well as the country that had grown close to her heart. The tears were rolling down her cheeks in no time while she tried to stay as still as possible.

"Hey, is she crying?"

"I don't know, I can't see her, you tell me."

"Seems like it. HEY! She's only crying, didn't even flinch, the poison is probably still active."

Despite her situation, Levy's mind was still running like clockwork and her brain sprung into action, processing any information she could get. _So I was right, a paralysis poison. But how did they get it into my body? Or did I inhale something?_

"You should give her some more, just to be sure. We don't want her to know where she is."

"What are you talking about? She's from Chrate, how is she supposed to know where we are. It's a miracle she's still here and we didn't need to go all the way up to Rhyacus to get her."

_Miracle? Wait, don't they know why I'm here? But if they don't know about the reason of my stay, does that mean they don't know about my and Gajeels relationship? That would mean they won't use me against him! But…why did they take me then?They must have a spy to even know that I'm here. Or maybe they just had one in Rhyacus…_

She couldn't imagine the reason the kingdom of Erkar would go to the lengths of abducting her, if not for her relationship with the king of Terya. She didn't dare to think it was anyone but henchmen from Erkar, everything else would contain a number of possibilities she didn't even want to consider. Levy tried to move again and only managed to open her right eye the tiniest bit. She could make out the horse in front of her, a dark brown heavy horse and the one to her right, a white thoroughbred. _Shiro? No, that's not him, Shiro has a lighter mane. But…they took me while I was still on him, where is he? _She got nervous thinking about what might have happened to her favourite horse and wriggled around in her seat anxiously, prompting the man behind her to stop their horse.

"We should give her another dose, she's waking up."

_Shit! But maybe now I know how they got it into my system before. Just as the paralysis was starting to wear off. I hate this feeling. I wish Gajeel was here. I need to leave him a clue…but I can't even move. I can only sleep…wait, why am I sleepy again? Is that the poison? I didn't notice how they did it…but…it must be…I feel so…heavy…_

Everything started to slow down and at last she fell back into black unconsciousness.

* * *

Gajeel barked orders over the courtyard, the only thing keeping him together by now was taking action. After looking for Shiro, who'd thankfully been smart enough to stay on castle grounds, he'd made the announcement about Levy's abduction and started to prepare his subordinates for the things coming. Most of the generals in Farkesi had brought their direct subordinates to the castle and he was giving them their orders to take to their battalions.

"We start to move at dawn. The first outpost is just a few hours on horseback away, but will take almost the whole day on foot. We will set up camp for two days to regroup and let others join us. Afterwards we will only set up camp for one night before moving to the next outposts. With this pace we will arrive at Erkars border in a week, but our main forces will stay behind as to not be endangered. Scouts will clear out any are we want to set up camp at, especially the last one. It is important that we are not aggressive in any way and Erkar should be kept in the dark about our movements. That is all."

"You are dismissed!" Lily's order set the men in motion. They bowed, gathered and left through the main entrance of the castle.

Gajeel turned around and went back inside, Lily following closely behind.

"Do you want some company, Gajeel? We can stay up together if you'd like."

"No need. I want to be alone."

"Promise me not to destroy anything and I'll leave you alone."

Gajeel just growled in annoyance, but it was enough for Lily. He knew his friend despised talking whenever he was hurting and he didn't want to press the issue, so they parted ways soon after.

* * *

"He's hurting so much I can feel it in my fur and it's making my whiskers tingle."

"Well, the woman he loves has been taken away from him. I doubt he'll stop hurting until he knows she is safe."

"I know; I just wish I could help him somehow. It's not just that he's angry or sad. He's so raw and full of emotions that he thinks I don't know about, but I can feel them to a point I want to run away because they are so strong."

"I can't imagine what he must feel like if they are so strong for you. But I think that you are helping him by staying by his side during all of this. I just hope you will come out of this war as unscathed as possible."

"I'll try my best. I hope you won't be too lonely without our teas? How do you get along with the others?"

"Don't worry too much. Enough of them treat me kindly and even those who don't are not cruel or deceitful. I pay them no mind when they eye me with suspicion. The only one I need to be concerned about is Kofu and she does not indulge in their spiel. Also, Mary and I get along well, she is a very nice girl."

"I'm glad to hear it. Paying them no mind may be your best option to show that you are not an enemy."

"I would rather have them just leave me be. I will always be grateful for the opportunities you granted me, but I will move on someday. Rest is for the housecats."

"I do have to say I was very surprised you took my offer in the first place. I did not expect you to be content with the work of a maid."

"I do not mind the work, but my fur is itching to be back on the road. I want to follow the way of our people. If I'm honest, I have no idea how you could stay here for so long. I know that more and more Exceeds start settling down these days, but I thought a warrior like you would be even more connected with the blood of our elders."

"You know, there is no reason why I need to ride out so often. Most of my duties could be fulfilled by a messenger, but I use the opportunity to travel all over the kingdom and sometimes the continent. I do have the thirst all Exceeds seem to be driven by, but I like living here. I like that my life is organized if I want it to be and that I don't have to worry about my next meal. I life a more comfortable life than most and I owe all of it to the Redfoxes. Gajeel is my friend and I wouldn't want to leave him behind."

They talked some more before Shagotte had to return to her duties and Lily had to prepare for the coming day. He gave his Goodbye with the promise to stay away from harm, both of them full well knowing how unkeepable it was.

* * *

The buzzing of the grindstone could be heard over the courtyard of Farkesi Castle as the sky slowly began to brighten, the last stars still clinging to their nightly resting place. Gajeel sat in full armor in front of the stone wheel and sharpened his sword, Dragonfang. It was his favourite, forged with steel made from the best iron in Terya and imbued with magic spells during forging so it would never break or rust. Apart from the masterful crafting, the design of the weapon was pure art. Stretching in length from his feet to his upper waist, the two-hander displayed a wide handle with a ruby shining in the center. Intricate carvings all over the blade made it seem much more delicate than it was, but anyone trying to lift the gigantic weapon would quickly know that it was anything but delicate.

Lily walked out onto the courtyard on Tinto, leading a saddled and prepared Scenja on her reigns beside them. Gajeel stopped mistreating his ears with the screech and sheathed the massive sword before walking over to his friend.

"We're ready to leave at your command."

Gajeel mounted Scenja and gave the signal for the castle doors to open, revealing a few hundred soldiers waiting in the streets of Farkesi and on the pathway towards the castle. They turned towards him and stood in attention as he gave Scenja the signal to move forward with Lily and Tinto on his heels. The castle guards would stay behind until they were needed and keep the peace in the city.

Gajeel shifted in his seat to get comfortable as Lily slowly came up beside him. Only one thought resided in his head:

"Let's go save my Queen."

* * *

**/**

**whoops. I literally just made the split second decision to cut the last part bc I felt this was a better ending. Whelp.**

**I would like to tell you that this means I can update sooner, but Christmas time is filled with stuff, so please don't get your hopes up, gomen. ^^'**

**To my amazing, wonderful reviewers:**

**Dragonfly2311: Thank you so much! Your words are really encouraging and I'm so happy you liked it :3**

**Livalibus: omygosh, really? Agh, I wasn't sure if it was too much or not, but knowing that you liked it this much gives me reassurace and happiness :3 And ofc Levy won't be the damsel in distress, she's too cool and strong and smart for that. I love her and want to give her the recognition she deserves for her skills, so I might have her kick major butt later on ;)**

**finch6: Cliffhangers are so much fun. Or maybe I'm just a sadist? ;D**

**MelinaRedfox328: There you have it! I had a ton of messages from you following and favving and reviewing, it made me soooo happy that you like my baby, really helped with writers block :3**

**nerdy12: THANKS! I hope you'll also like what I got in store for this, your review made me real happ :P**

**Have a great first December day and a wonderful week, you incredible people :3**


	12. Chapter 12 - Erkar

**AN: I'm back!**

**I'm so sorry I kept you waiting so long (insert ugly crying here), but I don't want to keep you waiting any longer, so the longer explanation and an outlook to the future will be at the bottom for anyone who wants to read it.**

**Have fun reading :3**

* * *

Chapter 12 - Erkar

Levy felt the now familiar feeling of regaining her senses. It was different from waking up, it felt more like she had been laying beneath a lot of blankets and they were now being lifted one by one. She hated being paralyzed, but couldn't figure out how it kept happening, at this point she just assumed it was some kind of magic she didn't know. She couldn't open her eyes but felt that she wasn't rocking back and forth anymore, so she must be off horseback. _Finally, how long has it been? Two days at least from the way my thighs feel. _

She tried to move and felt her fingers respond so she touched the ground she was laying on. It seemed soft and when she wiggled her body a bit she figured out she must be laying on a bed of some sorts. After a few more moments she could finally open her eyes and looked around. She was indeed laying on a simple bed in a stone room. Her vision was still blurry, but she could make out a big wooden table against the stone wall opposite the foot of her bed. It was day, light flowing through two windows illuminated the room. Levy could also see a closet, end table, sofa and even a bookshelf.

After waiting and listening some more, she felt safely alone, so she started to move her head and looked around, spotting two doors, some furs on the ground and a chandelier. She pulled herself off of the bed and walked around quietly, carefully examining her surroundings and herself. She noticed that she was still in the clothes she'd worn the day she was abducted and thanked Jhuvaia for it. Not only did this mean that she hadn't been redressed by a complete stranger, but she also still had something with her that belonged to her and reminded her of home. She eyed the bookshelf, but decided she'd look out of the windows first and have a closer look at the doors to determine her situation.

The view she saw when she looked out of the window almost let her forget her situation. It was positively breathtaking, a rocky valley spotted with foliage stretched out in front of her. The river that made it glistened in the few sunrays which were fighting their way through low-hanging, fluffy clouds. It was simply overwhelming and Levy couldn't keep herself from staring at it for a few minutes. She also noticed the rest of the castle, as well as the town below, but couldn't make out much more than that.

She finally detached herself from the view and walked to the other window, running her hand over the wood of the dresser that was standing against one of the walls. _This room seems rather nice…I wonder why I'm not in a cell or something. _The other window showed only more of the city below, nestled tightly beneath mountain cliffs, which Levy identified as part of Hut'lhur with it's significant, dark grey rock.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to finally try the doors and started with the one right next to the bed and the window facing the valley, which revealed a small washroom with a toilet, a bathtub and a stone sink. The second door opposite the other side of the bed wasn't opening up, but Levy had expected that. She tried to peek through the keyhole and could only make out a stone hallway. She did contemplate looking for a lockpick, but threw that idea out of the window rather quick. Breaking out of her room into a castle full of enemy forces currently wasn't her best option. Deciding that it was good to at least have something like it on hand, she looked through the dresser and wardrobe. The wardrobe only contained some simple clothing and towels, while the dresser only spat out various small things, including some candles, parchment and even an inkwell. At last, she even wandered around the room and looked in the crannies behind the furniture and even beneath the spacious bed, but it didn't yield notable results.

With her situation examined so far, she decided to finally give the bookshelf a closer inspection. It came clear very quickly, that nearly all of the books were about magic and magical theories. Two or three explained the history of Erkar and another few seemed to be some sorts of religious texts. Since she had nothing else to do than wait for someone to come for her she decided to read until that happened. Although after picking up a book about history and sitting down on the bed, she ended up contemplating her current predicament more than actually reading and now started to miss Gajeel desperately. She wished for nothing more than to be able to snuggle against him and breathe his scent. Even though the quiet, empty room emanated calm, she felt herself growing antsy and agitated. Lost in her thoughts like this, she didn't hear the approaching footsteps until someone started unlocking the door, causing her to jump.

She quickly grabbed the next best item, a candelabrum on the end table and backed up against the bookshelf, not leaving the door out of sight. The large piece of wood swung open and a tall, slender man walked in. Levy stiffened and glared at him, as he drew closer to her, ready to defend herself, but he stopped a few feet in front of her and, to her surprise, bowed.

"Do not fret, Milady, I will not attack you. I am merely here to welcome you and inform you of your task. Please do not feel threatened."

"Who are you? Where am I and why am I here? How did you bring me here and what is this task you're talking about?!"

"All of your questions will be answered in due time. The only thing you need to know right now, is that you are currently an honored guest in the infinite Kingdom of Erkar."

Levy lowered the candelabrum at the words "honored guest", but she kept alert as the man looked her up and down, sniffed and scrunched his nose. "You will have to redress; these rags are not befit of the venerable castle of his Holy Majesty. New clothes should arrive here shortly and then we can get rid of these." He gestured towards her and Levy's heart dropped, any inkling of rage at his condescending tone vanishing.

"Please let me keep my clothes!" she felt like losing them meant losing the last connection she had to her own life and Gajeel. After all, she wore them the first time they went into the forest and she cherished that memory.

"I apologize, Milady, but that won't do. These are neither befit the infinite Kingdom of Erkar or a lady. We'll have to get rid of them. Please redress now." A maid appeared in the doorway and put a set of folded clothes onto the bed, along with setting down a pair of shoes next to it. Levy felt her throat close up, but knowing how limited her choices were, she just nodded, grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom.

Inside she undressed and had a look at the clothes that she'd have to wear. A white, flowy dress coupled with a light, green overdress with gold rims made for an admittedly nice outfit. After she put it on, she noticed that another folded piece of clothing was left, some sort of very long, light green cape with flower embroidery _Why am I being dressed up like this? I am their prisoner; this looks like evening attire._

She shook her head and gently folded her old clothes when an idea started to form in her head. She knew that she had to give up her blouse and the riding breeches her parents had gifted her. But at least, she wanted to keep the scarf, that shouldn't be impossible. It reminded her of all the times she'd ventured out with Shiro and the first time she and Gajeel had visited the river at their clearing, so she decided that she would not lose it. Her confidence and sense of self-preservation had died down when it became clearer that her prison guards had a hold of power over her that she wouldn't be able to escape. Now, she decided to get the upper hand, even if just the tiniest bit.

After looking around, she noticed the small window next to the sink. It was high up, barred and too small to fit a person, but it had a handle, so could possibly be opened. Levy climbed up on the large sink, opened the window and tied the scarf around one of the bars before closing it climbed back down, brushed out her dress and took a deep breath to gather herself. She was determined to not be broken, not be pushed down by these people.

Sending a quick prayer to Jhuvaia, to give her strength and luck, she gathered the bundle of clothing into her arms and exited the bathroom.

"Ah, marvelous! Now, that I can work with!"

Levy sat down on the bed, the bundle of clothes still in her arms, as the man started talking once more. "You surely have been wondering why you are here, but I am forbidden to tell you just yet. His Holy Majesty has granted you a few days to settle in, the maids will tend to all of your needs and provide you with food, as well as clothing. After that time, His Holy Majesty will then assign your first task to you." With that, he took her clothes and left so fast, that Levy was unable to answer.

Levy groaned in frustration when she heard the door getting locked and let herself fall back onto the bed. _Apparently, everyone will just ignore the fact that they abducted me to bring me here. Fine, I'll play along until I get a chance to get out of here. Hopefully I won't lose my mind until then. Gajeel…I hope you are alright._

* * *

_**I miss you.**_

* * *

That was the only thought Gajeel allowed himself about his beloved woman and the only thing that drove him forward. He knew he had to be strong. He might be driven by the desire to save Levy, but his soldiers only followed him_. _If he faltered, or stopped giving them a reason, they would lose their motivation to fight for him and without their help, he'd never be able to even get to her. Lily riding up to him interrupted his thoughts.

"We should reach the first campsite in a few minutes; I'll alert the generals so they can give out their first orders. More soldiers should join us in the morning, shortly before we depart."

"Thank you." Gajeel was glad that Lily had gone into full business mode, not forcing him to be emotional, but instead focusing on the task ahead.

They set up camp shortly after, focusing on mobility, rather than comfort, since they would leave in the morning. Gajeel himself slept on a simple mattress made of straw in an equally simple tent. It could only be made out to be his from the guards posted around it, as well as Scenja, who was grazing around the pole she was tied to. Since Lily had set up near them, Tinto occasionally came over to annoy her.

Inside the tent, Gajeel took off most of his armor and simply put it in a wooden box, the only other piece of furniture in the cramped room. He never cared much about comfort anyways, but now he had developed a tunnel vision onto his goal, completely ignoring his own feelings. He laid down on the mattress and pulled the thin wool blanket up to his chest. Even though it was only one night they'd spent together, he already missed Levy sleeping by his side, keeping the nightmares away with her own special magic. He also had no opportunity to listen to the waves on the shore or look outside into the garden to calm himself. _How many nights without sleep will it take for me to become insane, I wonder? I can't let myself spiral, again, I won't get her back like this, but how long can I hold on? _

His night was spent with those and similar thoughts, while he tossed and turned on his mattress. The few hours of sleep he managed to get were filled with the nightmares he tried so hard to banish during the day.

_I miss you._

* * *

**/**

**And I missed you all :3**

**After Christmas and New year were kinda stressful already, I had to write an entire paper in less than a week and get back into the uni grind in general. Me and my boyfriend also went on a study trip to venice with his class, which was quite frankly, torture. **

**Think standing for hours in freezing temperatures and you can't even enjoy the city because all you do is get dragged around to visit stuff that only your professor finds interesting. (I only tagged along with my bf and his class, all classical music geeks/music majors, while I, a literature major, can't even read notes, so I usually sat/stood there, freezing my butt off, while not even understanding half the things I was being told, so I also felt stupid and inferior the whole week :/) It was awful and I almost had a few breakdowns during our stay there. **

**I was feeling down and very stressed during those past weeks and had a major writers block, all the while missing you guys and my favourite dorks desperately. Being sad when seeing FT content is a bad feeling. **

**Now I have all of my things sorted out, I can finally relax and my semester break started, so I can finally write for you again! Makes me really happy :3**

**Over all of this I haven't lost my inspiration, in fact, I've been getting more ideas for more fanfics, including, but not limited to, a soulmate AU, a steampunky AU and a Witcher AU. (The Witcher 3 is my favourite game ever, I adore it to death and I'm binging it for the fifth time now, finally on the switch. While playing, I noticed that Gajeel would make a great witcher and I can't stop imagining Levy as a sorceress) ****On top of that, I still have the modern day AU in the works, but that one will also take more work and time before you can read it.**

**Now that I finally finished the rant, I can do my favourite part, thanking you guys for your amazing reviews :D**

**I especially wanted to thank Dragonfly2311 for pulling me out of the "coming back after long absence" anxiety. Your message made me so incredibly happy and excited to write for my wonderful readers and you especially. So, from the bottom of my heart, Thank You. **

**Livalibus: Aw, thanks for your support :3 I feel much better now, the winter stress is letting up and my boyfriend is doing the best he can to make me feel better. Looking forward to seeing you on the next chapters.**

**Mskumiko24: Hell yeah, the hunt is on! **

**Guest: And kick ass, he will. I'm looking forward to writing that, too ;P**

**Abbystar13: I'm happy that you like it :)**

**See you soon and have a wonderful rest of the week my amazing viewers :3**


	13. Chapter 13 - Revelations

**AN: Sorry for the long wait! Live has been stressful as usual and tbh I wasn't satisfied with this chapter for a long time. But I'm even more dissatisfied with making you all wait for so long :( **

**Another Chapter is in the works and I finally know where to take this story, at least for another few chapters. **

**Have fun reading!**

* * *

Chapter 13 – Revelations

After their almost week-long journey to the border, the forces of the Teryan Army had nearly tripled in numbers. Soldiers on standby, new volunteers and veterans alike heeded the call and came to offer their strength. They'd now set up camp about three forestlengths away from Erkar, according to their scouts only five forests away from enemy troops.

"Did you see how many men they had?"

"They were filling at least four fields, I'd say about 80.000, your Majesty."

"Anything else, unusual weapons, creatures, anything that seemed…magical?"

"Less weapons than expected, actually. I couldn't see trebuchets or any siege weapons in general and nothing seemed magical or unusual," the scout reported, which led Lily to sigh in frustration and Gajeel waved his hand.

"Thank you, you're dismissed."

The scout bowed and left the tent, presumably to rest before he had to return to his post. Lily let out a growl and furrowed his brow.

"Something tells me we shouldn't be the aggressor in this conflict."

"Lily, you know I trust your instincts but we have almost the double amount of their men, we should be able to win pretty easily. And as soon as we get over them we can go forward and look for Levy."

"I know you are worried about her, as am I. But Erkar is clearly planning something or at least has some reason to believe that they have an advantage. We need to be patient and wait for an opportunity."

"We can't wait, Levy doesn't have that kind of time!"

"I won't send our men unprepared into battle like that! We don't know where she is, wether she's alive OR IF SHE'S EVEN HERE!" Lily raised his voice in frustration at his stubborn friend. He loved Gajeel like a brother and it pained him to see his friend in such distress, not to mention his own worries about the woman they were looking for. But he was also not ready to let emotions dictate the battles ahead of them. The sudden wakeup call seemed to upset Gajeel even more, as the severity and uncertainty of the situation sunk in once more.

"I KNOW! I know," he yelled back in, equally frustrated and buried his head in his hands, before continuing, "I just, I'm so worried and it's driving me CRAZY!"

A burst of energy erupted from the king of Terya and he transformed in an instant. Gajeel had only kept the sharper teeth and metal fangs from his earlier outburst, but now the horns, scales and glowing eyes came back, again giving him the more dragon-like appearance. Lily assumed a fighting stance and unsheathed his sword.

"Don't," he said softly and felt instant relief wash over him when his friends eyes widened in realization. Gajeel looked down in concentration and his dragon features slowly vanished, as well as the magical force that was emitting from him.

"Sorry. It seems to come out when I get..uh..worked up." He scratched his head in embarrassment, but Lily gave him an incredulous look.

"**It**? Look, I know we haven't talked much because you've been out of it since…well, you know what happened, but now we have to. Let's change the subject for a second, clear our heads. Please, tell me; what is happening to you?!" Lily sheathed his sword again and sat down in a nearby chair.

"I can't explain much to you, I only know what my old man told me."

"Well, enlighten me then."

* * *

Left, right, left, right, left, right, wall, turn around, left, right, left, right, left, right, door, turn around, left, right, left…bed.

Trying and slowly failing not to go insane, Levy had paced her room almost the entire day, before finally collapsing on her bed after the 483rd round. Not that she had been counting.

"Well, I didn't think this room could get any smaller, but it definitely proved me wrong." She laid an arm over her eyes and sighed in frustration. Reading all of the books only took her about three days, since most, if not all of the magical theories were written in a language she couldn't read and the religious texts were abstruse and too full of pathos to read or enjoy longer than a few pages. The only things she liked were the history books, but she had finished them on the first day already and they got repetitive after the first two books. History only had so many events one could write about after all.

She'd even thought about honing her non-existent drawing skills by drawing the view outside or things in her room, but besides the inkwell there was nothing to write with; a circumstance that had also kept her from trying to translate the language the tombs about magical theory were written in.

She was about to start pacing again when she heard footsteps and sat up straight, while silently cursing how much this room had already conditioned her into being excited about approaching footsteps. _Hmmm, multiple footsteps actually…_

She stood beside the bed and smoothed out her dress just as keys started clinking in the door. Swinging open, it revealed the man who she'd met on her first day in Erkar. But instead of coming over to her or even acknowledging her presence he stood beside the open door and straightened his back.

"His Holy Majesty, King of Erkar, Protector of the weak, Eternal knight of Lor-"

A low baritone interrupted him: "That's enough Thevos."

"As you wish, my lord." After that, he finally addressed Levy, "Kneel for your host, King Hades the Eternal."

A shadow filled the doorway and Thevos bowed, while a startled Levy just decided to curtsy.

When she looked back up, the king of Erkar was standing in the middle of her room, looking down on her. He looked different than she had imagined. For instance, he was decades older than she had thought. From the recent developing in Erkar, she'd assumed they would have gotten a new ruler, but that didn't seem to be the case. He had a very long, thin white beard, matching his long white hair and grey tunic, which reached the floor and was accompanied by a heavy, dark grey coat. A large gold crown shimmered atop his head and Levy glimpsed some simple burgundy pants and black boots as he moved towards her.

"Did you not hear me?! I said kneel!" Thevos hissed at Levy when he noticed her standing, but King Hades waved his hand dismissively.

"That's fine Thevos, she is just our guest for now," he focused his attention back on said guest before continuing, "and it is very good that we finally meet. I was very curious about you, but unfortunately had to tend to urgent matters until now. I am very pleased to finally formally welcome you into the eternal kingdom of Erkar."

"Um, Thank you, your Majesty."

The king seemed very pleasant, his calm voice and friendly demeanor were strangely reassuring and Levy felt herself relax in his presence. _Maybe he will just give me some task and then I can go…_

"So tell me, how do you find your stay at my castle so far, Milady?" he asked and sat down on the chair in front of the desk. "Excuse me, old bones aren't what they used to be." He gave her an apologetic look followed by a friendly smile and clasped his hands in front of him.

"It was pleasant so far, thank you." Levy was still on guard, everything just seemed too easy and the king too nice.

"Sit down, dear, no need to damage your bones as well." Levy nodded and carefully sat down on the bed behind her. The king smiled and continued, "I was told that you were inquiring about the reason for your stay with us and I don't intend to keep you in the dark any longer. You see, it has come to our attention, that you are one of the leading experts on ancient languages and we require your skills. You might have noticed that some of the books in here are not translated."

He made a brief pause, so Levy assumed that he wanted her to say something.

"Thank you for the compliment, your Majesty. Do you mean the magical theories?"

"Ah, I see we haven't made a mistake in acquiring your help. How intriguing, most of your predecessors hadn't even noticed that. The matter at hand is, we direly need these theories to advance our magic abilities, but so far, no one has been able to translate them."

"Excuse my question, magic isn't exactly my profession, but my impression was that magic works without translation as well?"

"Well that is simply too dangerous. To use magic means you also have to understand it. What if I wanted to light a candle, but end up lighting you on fire? What if I just want to cut some food, but end up cutting you apart instead?" Levy felt her stomach drop into her feet, hoping he wouldn't notice how her heart practically tried to run out of her chest. It was obvious now, how he tried to intimidate her behind all of the friendly words and pleasantries. She felt like an animal, that was only being fed to make it fatter before slaughter. Nonetheless she knew she had to play their game, play the polite, naïve, little girl that is completely entranced by their hospitality.

"So. Do you think you can help us use magic correctly?"

"Ah, yes, of course I can try translating the books. I cannot promise anything as of yet, but ancient languages always have been my field of expertise."

She jumped as the man in front of her suddenly got up far quicker than she had expected and hastily got up herself.

"Wonderful. Thevos and the maids will give you everything you need to work. I look forward to your results. Oh and one more thing:"

"Yes?"

"You have two weeks."

With that he and Thevos made their exit, leaving Levy alone once more, her mind racing from an experience that had shaken her more than she'd like to admit.

* * *

"Lily? Are you still with me? Can you please say something? Look, I even said please!" Gajeel was getting seriously worried, his friend had been non-responsive for several minutes now, just sitting in a chair and staring into nothing, presumably contemplating what he'd just heard. Finally, he was receiving a nod and shortly afterwards, Lily drew in a deep, long breath, let his face fall into his paws and leaned back on the chair.

"So, let me get this straight…you, my best friend, my king…are a dragon?"

"Not exactly, more like…part dragon."

"YES, BECAUSE THAT IS SO MUCH BETTER!"

Gajeel could almost hear a faint _clank_ from the guards outside of the tent jumping at the outburst of his friend.

"Okay, okay, I know it sounds bad, believe me, **I know! **I had a hard time with it too! But don't announce it to the whole camp, would ya!"

"How…how does that even happen? The dragons have been dead for centuries!"

"I take it you didn't hear my explanation?"

"It's not exactly easy to keep listening to you if you start with the dragon thing."

"Alright, I guess my explanation skills aren't the greatest."

"You guess, huh? Please explain again."

And so, Gajeel explained. He told his friend of the dragon age and of the magical power they wielded. He told him how they mysteriously got almost wiped out and how the strongest five gave their powers to five humans who then went on to rule five of the eight kingdoms. How they'd shared their blood and magic with these humans and thus ensured that their power lived on in these bloodlines.

"That's possible? And why has no one ever heard of that before?"

"It's a well guarded secret in the royal families. The five humans who originally received the power conquered the lands they built their kingdoms on. To cover that up and make themselves into legends they told no one of their gifts. Apparently there was also some sort of agreement between them, but how and why got lost somewhere. Hell, I didn't even know until my old man told me, just a year before the war."

Lily sighed and stood abruptly, making his way back to the map. "I might need some more time to digest the full impact of this information, but right now we have more imminent things to worry about. How much of an asset are these powers of yours?"

"Can't tell you. They could be useful, they could destroy me, I have no idea."

"But you lived with them your whole life, didn't you learn anything useful during that time?"  
Now it was Gajeels turn to sigh and sit in the previously occupied chair.

"Nah, it ain't that easy. See, even though I carry the dragon blood, the magic inside of me has to be trained, like any other magic. I didn't access it until my old man taught me how to, so I only lived with it for a few years."

"And you lacked guidance for most of them, I see. So, we know you have a hard time controlling the dragon, but can you assess how strong it is?"

Gajeel just shook his head and for the first time in his life, Lily actually felt the need to bang his head against something. That idiot! No matter how much he loved Gajeel, the passiveness this man exhibited when it came to his issues drove him insane on a regular basis.

"Great." He stated dryly and added a question mark on the notes about their troops he mulled over in his mind constantly.

_Like this wasn't difficult enough already…_

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**/end of this chapter **

**meh, perfectionism is a big meanie.**

**But, my wonderful reviewers give me hope and of course I want to thank you all for your support!**

**Dragonfly2311: 2020 is really not anyones year it seems. Your support means a lot to me :3**

**finch6: I'm so sorry *insert ugly sobbing here* and omg, someone crying bc of what I wrote is like one of the highest honors I could have, thank you!**

**Livalibus: Thank you so much! Aagh, love how you always analyze my writing, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy with happiness!**

**nikkiw67: Hey, welcome to the crew! Glad to see that you like it so much!**

**Vancouvermoon: Oh wow, I know that feel. Your review really got me off my butt, thanks so much for your ongoing love for my baby!**

**Stay safe, stay healthy and have a nice weekend. Love you all and see you soon!**


	14. Chapter 14 - Truth

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry for taking long again, my bf and I got bunnies and although they are my babies, they are quite a bit of work ;)**

**Have fun with this chapter while I start on the next one ;P**

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Chapter 14 - Truth

Erkars Capital laid dark in the night, like in the day, the high peaks of the surrounding mountain range threw a shadow from the moon and only the castle towers were high enough to reach for the light. The only difference to the day was the quiet that befell the city and the castle when it's residents went to sleep. Only the residents, though, as their prisoner was still at least half awake, scribbling away in her little room, trying to not get candle wax on the notes that now laid sprawled all over the table. While Levy was working, almost frantically if not for her exhaustion, one sentence was bouncing around between the words of the ancient languages and magical terms. _You have two weeks. Energy reading. You have two weeks. Elemental manipulation. Two weeks. Rune drawing. Thirteen more days. _

Right before her head hit the table, she suddenly awoke and jerked back hard, tipping her chair over. This time, there were no strong arms to catch her and she heard the chair clatter on the floor as sharp, breathtaking pain struck her back. She gasped for air and curled into herself, trying not to groan in pain. When the waves of agony finally subsided, she slowly pulled herself up on the table and blew out the candles. Now with the flames snuffed, only the moon provided light for her to limp to the bed. She slowly redressed in her nightgown and carefully laid down on the bed, where she immediately curled back into a ball.

The shock and the pain of the fall seemed to have made the stress and sadness finally catch up to her. Her whole body started shaking with quiet sobs and soon she felt the first tears well up in her eyes. She continued crying into herself, concentrating on the feeling of the water droplet slowly rolling down to her nose to not let her cries be heard. It almost proved too hard, as now, she wished for nothing more than strong arms wrapping around her and a shoulder to hide and cry into. Her situation made itself clear to her, cruel and unforgiving it showed her just how far she was from everything and everyone she knew and loved. She tried to remember all the times she was soothed when crying. How her mother would hug her, how her father and brothers would cheer her up with silly faces and jokes. How the other maids made a sleepover the first time she got homesick and how Lucy would stay up with her to talk the darkness and loneliness away. How Gajeel had kissed her tears away the first he told her that he loved her. Her heart squeezed together so painfully that she had to gasp. The memories, rather than bringing her comfort had hammered only one realization into her head. The door wouldn't open, no matter how hard she cried. No one in the castle cared if she hurt so deeply inside that it felt like someone had sliced her open. No one would come and soothe her pain.

She felt so desperately alone.

* * *

Gajeel was sitting in his tent, absentmindedly chewing on a small metal plate that he'd sneaked out of the armory station on a routine visit. His mother had always scolded him for it when he was a child, telling him that it was dangerous and could ruin his teeth, but it never stopped him. No matter how many times he cut his cheek or his tongue, the feeling of his teeth hitting the sturdy material, the metallic taste and quiet crunch sounds always soothed him.

Unfortunately, his anxiety had risen to a point where neither breathing techniques, nor chewing on metal or even fighting could relax him. Lily had to stop him from really ripping into the men he'd sparred with in the morning, but he knew that it wouldn't have made him feel better anyways. There was only one thing, only one person that knew how to calm him down and when she was by his side, half of his problems would be solved anyways. He could deal with a war, he could deal with constantly being surrounded by people, but only if he knew that the most precious part of his life was safe and unharmed behind the walls of Farkesi Castle. He might have chuckled at that dragon-typical hoarding behavior if he wasn't stressed out of his mind. At least the solitude of his tent and the metal crunching between his teeth kept him from pulling his hair all day and losing his sanity whenever he had to talk to anyone other than Lily.

"Gajeel? I need you, one of our border patrols caught a scout from Erkar!"

_Speak of the dragon and he will appear. Maybe I should try that. _He spat out the metal piece before yelling for Lily to enter.

The tent flap swung open and revealed the looming form of the Iron-clad Exceed.

"Time to get your intimidating face on, I want you to interrogate him."

Gajeel scowled at his best friend, wondering where the fuck Lily thought that he could interrogate anyone in his current state of mind.

"Perfect, you're already prepared." His friends voice was dripping with sarcasm, which only deepened the furrow between Gajeels brows.

"Save it. Why can't you do it?"

"This one is special. A scout patrol caught him at a point where he wasn't close enough to really see anything. Then they even blindfolded him, so he actually has no information about us yet."

"Yet? We keep him prisoner and it doesn't matter what he knows. Why do you want to let him go so badly?"

"You my friend are the key. We'll prepare everything to make him think our forces are way outnumbering theirs and then you will talk to him in your black dragon armor. If Erkar thinks we are stronger than expected we might be able to outsmart them. Also, it will buy us time as they no longer think that we are easy prey.

Gajeel felt hope form in his chest like a flower that had been watered after a drought. Suddenly it wasn't stress and anxiety that made his body tingle, it was the rush of hope and excitement. He jumped up and walked past his friend to exit the tent.

"Come on, we have to make someone piss himself!" He laughed his typical maniacal laughter and Lily grinned into himself, glad to have at least a tiny bit of his friend back.

* * *

"A dragon of a man...clearly visible fangs and talons…even scales and horns… started shaking in his mere presence…an aura of pure malice and ferocity…an army full of berserks and beast-like men…a warrior exceed, taller than a horse…Is that the actual report, Thevos?"

"Yes, your majesty. According to the messenger, the scout returned yesterday evening to camp and was completely devastated. He made this exact report and swore that everything was as he saw. Allegedly he's been refusing to leave his tent ever since."

"I thought we were sending scouts out, not scaredy-cat poets."

"I will send out a message to the troop leaders, your Majesty."

"Let them pick out the actual information that is of interest. Hmmm…do I read a lot of dragon symbolism in here?"

"The scout was explicitly asked about this and stated that he in fact did not exaggerate. Do you want me to ask the troop leaders to reevaluate him?"

"Don't bother. I think I might know an easier way to find out the truth. Come on Thevos, we're going to pay our prisoner a visit."

* * *

Levy winced when she tried to lean back on the chair and hit the still sore spot on her back. She let out a sigh and let the quill drop back into the inkwell. Her back hurt, her eyes hurt, her bottom hurt and her head felt like mush. She'd been working nonstop, pausing only to sleep and eat. The maids were nice enough to bring her something to drink, but sometimes she forgot it until the dizziness broke through her work-frenzy. Usually she enjoyed being so swept up in her work, but usually she wasn't working for, well, her life if she had to guess. King Hades hadn't made any threats towards her, but that did not ease her mind about what would happen if she couldn't present him with results in twelve days. Picking up the quill again, she threw herself back into the translation of the ancient language she had named Maku after an ancient Mritharian word for magic. Her people always had had a strong bond with their deity, Jhuvaia who gave them the gift of magic and thus they were one of the first nations to have a word for it. She'd just written a few more words when the door to her room opened.

"Please leave it on the dresser, my table is too full," she just said without turning, not wanting to break her concentration. What did do that however, was the sharp voice that now hissed at her.

"I **suggest** you change your tone this instant! I will not allow you to speak like that in the presence of his Holy Majesty!"

Levy jumped up and whirled around, to see the, which she had deemed very punchable, face of her greatest nemesis in the castle of Erkar.

"Good day to you too, Thevos." She just smiled at him and he squinted his eyes in disdain. A shadow entered the doorway and Thevos bowed deeply. Levy lowered her head and curtsied, hiding her shiver as best as possible.

"His Holy Majesty, king of the eternal kingdom of Erkar."

"Good day Milady."

"Good day, your Majesty."

She heard footsteps and some shuffling before the king spoke up again:

"You may raise your head and sit down, my dear."

When Levy looked back up, King Hades was sitting on the sofa and Thevos had positioned himself in front of the now closed door. She sat on her chair and folded her hands in front of her, waiting for the King to speak again.

"So tell me Miss McGarden, are you making progress? Are you enjoying your work?"

"The progress is good so far and I am enjoying the work, thank you for asking, your Majesty."

"Great! I'm sure that you will prove yourself useful to us."

"I hope so, your Majesty."

The king leaned backwards in the sofa and mirrored her hand positioning before he continued: "I've come to visit today, because I wanted to have a little chat with you, about your stay in Terya." Levy couldn't help but flinch at the mention of the kingdom she'd come to love so much, something King Hades noticed as well.

"Oh, dear, that's what I had feared. You must have had some frightening experiences there. I heard you accompanied Emperor Natsu and Empress Lucy and stayed in the Castle. Say, was it the king who frightened you so? Rumor has it he is half dragon."

"Oh, what a strange rumor." Levy was careful not to let anything else slip her tongue, knowing, that every little piece of information would be used against Gajeel or herself.

"I agree, the fairy tales that peasants come up with are truly curious to me. Although I have wondered if he might possess some kind of illusion magic. Say, you wouldn't know anything about that? This information would be **very useful to us.**" Levy noticed his emphasis on the last part and shivered at the hidden meaning behind it. Nevertheless, she couldn't lie to him and make up some story, as that could very well be a grave mistake.

"I'm afraid, I know nothing of that sort, your Majesty."

"Are you sure? Especially if it is illusion magic he could have been deceiving you without your notice," he asked again and his voice had taken quite a cold undertone. Levy could feel her heart falling into the pit of her stomach and suddenly she couldn't grasp a coherent thought as a wave of panic washed over her.

"H-h-he wouldn't do that," she said, more to herself than to the man in front of her, but he perked up at her words.

"How can you be certain? He could have planted whatever he wants in your head. With everything I have heard about him mistreating and scaring his underlings, I wouldn't put it past him." His words wormed themselves into her head and she began to doubt everything she remembered about Gajeel, about the castle and their shared experiences until she arrived at the memory of their first kiss. She saw his face clearly in front of her, the uncertainty and love, the hint of shyness and fear of rejection. _He'd never have looked like that if he'd just been playing with me. Tink logically Levy, use that head of yours. How could I let this stranger get into my head! He knows nothing about Gajeel!_

"Gajeel would never do that! He'd never lie to me!" As soon as she had said the words she clasped her hands over her mouth. She had intended for them to stay just thoughts, but she suddenly felt like she had no control over herself anymore.

"Oh?" That was Thevos who was looking too happy for her comfort and she felt the panic coming back.

"Well, Thank you for this new information. I was intending for something else, but that's magic for you, never know what happens." _A kind of mind control magic, of course! That's why I said my thoughts out loud! He won't do that to me again._ King Hades noticed that his prisoners was just giving him a determined stare and chuckled.

"No need to look so mean, Milady. We're talking about your beloved, after all. I wonder if he shares your feelings, he does seem like he doesn't have any himself."

Levy just stared at him, repeating only one sentence in her head. _Go away. Go away. Go away. _It seemed to work, as she managed to keep her lips sealed.

Hades clicked his tongue, seemingly annoyed now.

"Great, now she's concentrating. We have underestimated you quite a bit, little girl. But no matter. We have ways to make you talk. And your little fling might turn out useful, depending on how the impostor will react. Aw, dearie, don't scowl at me like that, you have reason to be very happy! You will see him in just a few days when we all visit the front together!"

Hades smiled cheerily, then, without waiting for a reaction, he walked out of the room and a few seconds later, the door was locked with a soft click.

Levy started shaking violently and felt her throat tighten. She started gasping for air when it wouldn't let her breathe and tried to concentrate on taking deep breaths, but she still felt like a fish out of water, only drawing in short gasps of breath until her lungs felt like bursting. Still shaking, she breathed it all out and the process repeated itself. Not only was she more frightened than she had ever been, but she felt disgusting and violated. He had wormed his way into her head and forced her to betray the people she loved. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom, where she threw up into the toilet until she only retched up air.

From now on, she'd be a hostage.

* * *

**/ End**

**Uuuh, it's getting dangerous ;)**

**Btw, I didn't want to invent a whole sanitary system, so toilets just work like normal toilets with funky mechanisms to make them work. Things like electricity still don't exist. I'm not too satisfied with the ending and some other parts (I really don't know how to properly write dialogue. Everything looks wrong D:), but I wanted to finally give everyone following this story an update.**

**To my reviewers:**

**dragonfly2311: I'm so looking forward to playing around with Gajeels dragon :3 (that sounds dirtier than its meant haha ;P)**

**rao hyuga 18: I'm happy to hear that you liked it! **

**Thanks to everone who faved and followed as well! I see you all ;3**

**Have a good time, stay safe and see you next chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15 - Magic

**AN: Another chapter for you lovelies! **

**Slight Trigger warning for this one, it does include some small self harm. **

**TW is also down there just in case. I have struggled with self harm in the past and recently even relapsed, I know how easy it can be to get triggered, so I don't want anyone else to have to deal with it because of me. Also, don't worry, I told my boyfriend and he is making sure that it wont happen again and is taking good care of me :3 **

**Gajeel is not a part of this chapter and wont be a part of the next one either so far. I simply don't want to bore you with the same thing over and over, since in my timeline, nothing new is currently happening at the camp. Also, I think I mentioned things like sinks, toilets and bathtubs and I have to confess: I'm too lazy to come up with a creative solution for that, so we will pretend that they work similar to the real deal. **

**Also, this story reached 10.000 views which is honestly mindblowing. I'm so happy that lots of people enjoy it and am really overwhelmed by such a large number! **

**Thank youuu :33**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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Chapter 15 - Magic

After the day Hades visited her, Levy started noticing more traffic in front of her door. The maids stopped talking to her or listening to her requests, instead just coming inside and setting food trays on her bed before disappearing again. She mainly ignored them and the guards who sometimes came in to check on her, she had more important things to do. Luckily for her, he seemed to still need her to translate the language and had not taken any of the books away. It took her two more days to start understanding the structure of the language and another two to be able to read parts of it. She started to read some more of the basic magic theories and slowly learned that the language was based on runes and was in itself already magical. It could be used to enchant, as well to use momentarily. She spent another two days translating most of the runes needed to create basic and advanced spells and enchantments, focusing on ones that would help her with the plan slowly forming in her head. Apparently, the magical runes could not be used to create simple things, such as a feather, but were rather concepts to use on things. There was no rune for door or table or ink, but there were runes for vision, light, passage, creation and so on. They could be used on their own or in combination with others and most interestingly to language enthusiast Levy, some, like creation could be written upside down for the opposite effect, destruction in that case. These ways of writing allowed an almost inexhaustible pool of possible combinations and thus, spells, as well as different ways to achieve the same thing. It was incredibly versatile, albeit difficult to understand and master for someone who was so used to letters and words. Nevertheless, she managed to gain quite a large vocabulary that could prove very helpful.

When the sun rose on the seventh day, Levy knew that this would be the last day for preparations. If she didn't escape before the next sunrise, she would be trapped, on her way to the battlegrounds with no possibility to run away. After a maid brought her food and a guard had come to check on her she started her final preparations. Lifting her pillow, she pulled out the lavender scarf. She had untied it a few days earlier, after the maids stopped making her bed and slept with it beneath her pillow ever since. It had lost all of its smell by now, but seeing it almost brought her to tears. She knew she had to let this prized possession go very soon, Jhuvaia, albeit being a benevolent deity did not give gifts without any kind of sacrifice. And the gift she was about to ask for was not without significance. Blessing a harvest or fishing season here and there, turning saltwater into fresh water or summoning some clouds for rain was one thing, but awakening ones magical power was something completely different.

Levy was thankful, that her magic had not been awakened for years by now, allowing her to keep this fact about herself under the radar. There was good reason behind no one outside of Mrithar knowing about their sacred rituals and magical abilities. If Hades knew she was able to use magic, he might have kept her under stricter observation, not allowing her the freedom she needed to escape from his hold. But he had even provided her with the perfect tool.

She let water flow into the sink, filling it up just below the edge. Salt from one of her food plates would need to be enough to simulate seawater, along with a few tears she had kept in a goblet for this exact reason. Wrapping the lavender scarf around her hands, she moved them slowly against each other, simulating flowing water. Ready to start the sacred ritual, she began praying in a quiet voice.

"Jhuvaia, oh creator of the sea and all life within, I hereby call upon your divine grace in search of your blessings. I ask you in your infinite wisdom to grant me the gift to change as the everlasting water does. Please grant me magic powers and the strength to use them wisely. I offer you this as proof of my undying gratitude. May the water wash it from all earthly attachments and leave only what you deem to be just." With these last words, she let the scarf fall into the sink and watched as it lit up in an almost blinding, bright blue light. Levy bent down and slowly let her head sink into the water, feeling it seep into her nose and ears, but she just continued praying to Jhuvaia for support, knowing the deity would never let their people be harmed by their own creation. She finally opened her eyes and mouth, feeling the water filling her mouth as well, but she could also feel the magic seeping into her body. The scarf seemed to have been a decent offering, judging from the amount she received. She was almost out of breath, her instincts planting panic into her body, when the water vanished in a flash of light, leaving her with the taste of salt in her mouth and magic ready at her fingertips. It felt like a surge of energy rushing through her, making the hairs on her body stand on end, as it brimmed with the newly awakened power. She smiled for the first time in weeks, the tears running down her face not from sadness or despair, rather from happiness at being filled with Jhuvaias grace and the long forgotten feeling of hope.

Remembering how limited her time was, she decided to try the runes out right away. Flipping through her notebook, which contained every single rune she had been able to translate, she decided the light rune would be a good start. To make sure that no one from the outside would be able to spot the light, she walked into the bathroom.

"Come on Levy. You can do it."

She concentrated on her magic, feeling the elusive energy flowing through her. She bound some of it, imagining a thread being woven and guided it towards her index and middle finger. The tips of those fingers started to glow faintly and Levy couldn't suppress a grin, proud of herself that she had not forgotten what the priests had taught her so long ago. She lifted her hand, the two fingers stretched out and drew the light rune into the air, releasing the magic slowly by imagining the thread leaving her fingers. When the last line was finished, the rune in the air began to glow stronger, now emitting a clear, bright golden light. Levy had trouble keeping herself from letting out a triumphant shout, surprised and happy that the magic runes actually worked the way she had hoped. The rune vanished when she willed the magic to dispel, ready to try the next option, drawing runes on stationary things. She had read that the runes would work even when drawn on her own body, so she drew a small rune of light onto the palm of her hand. It lit up as the other one had and kept emitting light even when she moved her hand around or closed it momentarily, only vanishing when she willed her body to stop supplying magic to it. She wondered how other runes would work, but didn't dare to try it out without any supervision.

Her next endeavor required more preparation, so she went back into the main room. Rummaging through her closet, she found the scraps of fabric she had been collecting for several days from the dresses that she was allowed to keep. She laid them out to connect into a big piece and fetched her inkwell and feather. Using her fingers, she wrote the runes for connection and singular on one of the fabrics and watched as the edges of fabric melted into each other, creating a patchy piece of fabric, about as large as her duvet, large enough to cover herself.

* * *

**TW: SELF HARM**

At last, she opened the dresser to retrieve a shard of glass, a piece of a mirror that she had smashed a few days earlier during a particularly loud and busy time in the castle. She sliced the inside of her palm, gritting her teeth in pain, but concentrated on letting the blood, infused with the essence of her magic, drop into the inkwell. After she was satisfied with the amount, she tied some makeshift bandages, made from more fabric scraps around her hand tightly to stop more blood from rushing out. Her hand pulsated and the cut hurt every time she moved it too much, but she pushed the pain far away and concentrated on the task at hand. **end tw**

* * *

After rereading everything in her notebook, she dipped the feather into the inkwell and started writing. She wrote the runes for vision, upside down, together with the runes for deception and reflection, as well as the reversed rune of perception onto her makeshift coat. While not an invisibility spell per se, it should still make her invisible by reflecting the light, the deception and reversed perception rune would increase the effect and make her less detectable in general. Putting the cloak around herself, she took the metal platter from where she had received her food. She positioned it as a mirror and concentrated before activating her magic and thus, the magic imbued through the ink in the runes. When she opened her eyes she saw nothing in the platter, where her face had been before and almost jumped in surprise. She tried to look at her hands, but could only see the floor even though she moved them right up to her face. _This kind of magic is amazing; it turns even advanced magical concepts into simple rune spells. _Invisibility was not accessible for just every magic user, usually only very skilled individuals managed to create spells that could achieve it, but the fact that the language gave her access to at least something close to it it gave Levy hope for her escape plan. She hid her cloak and waited for the guards to make their rounds and look into her room for the last time before getting to work.

She spent the next few hours finishing up her preparations. Using the runes, she disassembled some towels into strings, later reassembling them to cords that she could use to secure the coat around her body and head, making sure that it would not just slip off. Next, she took all of the covers off of her bed, rolling the bedsheet and duvet together tightly. If she ever needed a blanket or more fabric, this would come in handy. Of course she hoped to find a way to get back to Terya as soon as possible, but realistically she knew that she might be stuck in the wilderness for a good while. She stuck the packet, that she made smaller with the help of the runes into the pillow cover, together with her notebook, the book on magical theories that she deemed the most valuable, a feather, some empty parchment and the inkwell, as well as some old bread that she had saved from the daily food she received. It was dry and would get hard soon, but could possibly save her from starvation. The two apples she also kept were in much better condition and would hopefully keep a bit longer. Giving the room a last look to make sure that she had not forgotten anything, she decided to also take the glass shard, slipping it in between the bandages on her hand. _You never know, I might have to defend myself, or cut something. Better keep it handy. _She tied her hair up, slipped into the only pair of shoes she had available and tied the coat around herself. At last, she filled a goblet with water and emptied it, not knowing when she would be able to drink something again. By now, the moon was high up in the sky, the castle was silent and the guards in front of her door had stopped talking to each other, most likely having fallen asleep, like the last few days.

Lifting her hand, Levy summoned her magic and started drawing on the wooden door. The runes for access, passage, the reversed existence rune, together with a rune for travel and one used for direction, facing upwards. To complete the task, she drew a line parallel to the door edges. The runes started glowing in a faint light when Levy activated her magic and she took a last deep breath before stepping through the portal she had created. Would freedom await her behind it?

* * *

**/ end**

**Yes, what will await her behind it? I know but you don't ;P **

**The next chapter is actually already in progress and almost finished, but I don't know when it will be up. A lot is happening in my life rn so I'm even more unorganized than usual. A week goes by and I'm like damn, why is it sunday again? **

**I hope you like my magic runes, I'm quite fond of them. They are inspired by Japanese Kanji, Tarot cards, Levys actual magic and the magic from MoonbeamMadness' fic "The Walled Garden". I really recommend reading it. It's very, very dark, but oh so good. **

**To my wonderful reviewers (by the way, reviews make me write faster, so don't be shy ;P):**

**Dragonfly2311: The bunnies are as chaotic as can be, but I love them so much. Even when they chew on the wallpaper. And the table. And my carpet. And my pants. Mochi likes chewing on things. I hope you can wait a little longer for Gajeels dragon, I promise it will come ;). Goddamnit, why does everything sound slightly dirty?**

**rao hyuga: I actually wanted to make this one a huge cliffhanger, but we can't overdo it ;P **

**Livalibus: Aww, I did miss you on the other chapter :3 Your reviews are always amazing, so uplifting and so on point! What you're telling me is always exactly what I want to achieve with my writing, so it makes me really happy to hear that it had that effect :)**

**Until next time, take care of yourselves, stay safe and have a grand ol' time!**

**\- love, mavi**


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